Force of Iron
by advidartist
Summary: A betrothed couple. A jealous brother. A secret coup. A new evil that emerges after years of peace. A maid that knows the secrets to it all. Will Zuko and Katara be able to stop the war from continuing or stop a new war from starting? ZUTARA! slight AU
1. Something Wrong?

**Force of Iron  
**

Chapter One

Something Wrong?

Katara sat alone in her bedchamber, lying on her bed fully dressed in a blue kimono. She lay there wide awake with her mind wandering. Her room was an elaborate, yet traditional room in the Fire Nation Palace. To the servants it was known as the room of the Fire Lord's mistress, which is what she was, Fire Lord Zuko's Fiancé.

She remembered the night he proposed to her. How kind and passionate he was. Every time he kissed her, held her, every look in his eye, told her that he loved her, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her not just get her into bed with him.

She gingerly touched the engagement necklace that she wore, memories flooding back of simpler times. It was a finely polished black stone with the water and fire symbols on it, held around her neck by a red silk ribbon. As her fingers traced the stone memories flooded back of what Zuko used to be, before he somehow had a recent change in personality.

It was about 3 months ago. After 6 months of being engaged to one another. Zuko had to leave on a political trip to the Earth Kingdom, and Katara wanted to return to the South Pole to visit her family. They went their separate ways, knowing they weren't going to see each other for about a month, not expecting the unexpected.

When Katara had returned to the Fire Nation, Zuko wasn't there and he was scheduled to arrive earlier then she was supposed to.

Two weeks pass and finally his royal vessel was spotted on the horizon.

Katara waited for him at the entrance of the palace. When she finally saw him she could immediately see that something was not right, he looked like Zuko, but there was something in his eyes, kiss, and touch that was completely different from what she remembered, far from what the old Zuko was like.

Weeks passed and she began to see and believe that this person was not Zuko, the Zuko who she fell in love with and wanted to marry.

This person shrugged off duties that Zuko would usually willingly accept. The only new laws he made were for his benefit, not for his people or the world. He also seemed to become more distant from Katara. Before they would usually sit and talk in the garden, enjoying one another's company. But now it seemed like all he wanted was to get into her pants. She always politely refused, saying that they should wait until their wedding night. But he tried to force her into it anyway, until she got up and left the room.

She had gotten into the habit of avoiding him, mostly because it eventually came to a point where she didn't know what to do or say. If this imposter really was Zuko, he would come to her and ask what was wrong. But he never came.

She soon made up her mind that if he didn't return to the old Zuko soon, she would leave him.

Now she spent her evenings and nights alone in her room, thinking of what she would do or where she would go after she left. She figured she would go down to the South Pole, where her family was and where she could teach the next generation of water benders. She already had a suitcase packed with the essentials for her journey. She was ready to leave she just didn't know when. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay and marry Zuko, as was the original plan. _'But he's not Zuko'_, she reminded herself every night these thoughts occurred.

Suddenly, a portrait on the wall of her bedroom swung open. It was a secret passage that the old Zuko used to come up into her room almost every night, so they could spend the night in each others arms.

The painting opened to reveal the man that was supposedly Zuko. _'Well this is a first, he's never done this since he got back'_, she thought to herself.

She sat up on the side of her bed, turning away from him. She didn't want to look at him; it just made her angry and sad at the same time.

She diverted her attention to her bedroom window that revealed the night sky.

"What is it with you?" he questioned, breaking the silence between them.

"What is it with me?" she questioned back turning to face him. "I think the real question is what it is with you. What happened to you Zuko, if that is your real name? You haven't been the same since you got back. Now you have ten seconds to tell me what is going on or where the real Zuko is or I'm leaving." She was standing up now, looking in him in his cold amber eyes, which only reminded her of how warm they used to be, with anger in her voice.

"And don't lie to me," she added. Her frustration was on edge; she wanted the truth and wanted it now.

He looked at her sternly, as he crossed the room over to where she was standing. His expression was motionless; this made her somewhat frightened, as he stood inches from her face. It took all of her focus to keep from showing him the fear she felt in the pit of the stomach.

"Do you really want to know?" he said gruffly.

She gulped, preparing herself for the worst. It just then occurred to her that he could have killed Zuko to become Fire Lord. She silently prayed that he wasn't dead.

She slowly nodded.

"Very well then," he said as he turned away from her. He walked over to her desk where a portrait of Zuko and her sat. "It's him you want, am I correct?" he said coldly, indicating the portrait.

She couldn't hide her fear any more, her hands started to shake as shivers ran up and down her spine. It was then that she remembered what this man reminded her of, former Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko had told her stories about how cold and heartless his father was. Those stories made her react in the same way.

_'Is this man Ozai'_, she thought to herself. But she breathed a small sigh of relief when she remembered that Ozai had died in prison over a year ago.

"Yes…it's him that I fell in love with, and it's him that I want to marry," she said fear apparent in her voice. "Now who are you?" she questioned, mustering all the courage she had.

"My name is Ozaian the forgotten prince of the Fire Nation."

* * *

Yay!! I'm so excited cause this is my first chapter of the first story I have ever posted on Fanfiction. Been wanting to do this for awhile, now i've finally gotten around to it. :)

I know, I know I saw the finale, and frankly I don't care about the turnout. I just like Zutara.

Plus I can't wait to here of what you think, feel free to R&R.

Oh and before I forget, I own nothing whatsoever, Avatar and its characters belong to Nickelodeon and Viacom, except Ozaian cause I made him up. Neither do I own the rights to the movie that this is based off of. I don't want to tell you the movie, cause it might spoil the story for you, but feel free to guess.

I Hoped you enjoyed this first chapter, I'll try to have the next one up within the week or so. See ya!


	2. Maybe a little too rash!

Force of Iron

Chapter 2

Maybe a Little Too Rash!

Katara couldn't believe what she had just heard. But it was the truth, or at least part of it.

_'So he's not Zuko after all, can't say I'm surprised. His names Ozaian, and what is all this about the lost prince of the Fire Nation,'_ she thought.

"Who are you?" she said in almost a whisper, all the while shaking out of fear, and still confused by what he meant.

"Who am I…?" he started to say while slowly striding back too where Katara stood. He looked her right in the eye as he soon stood in front of her, knowing the fear it stirred within her. "I am the one who should have had the thrown. Why? Because I am stronger and more capable then Zuko ever was, and ever could be. I was only cast aside for merely my timing of birth. After all that I have been through I was the one who would've remained loyal till the end. And yet they gave the throne to him in the end, when I was the one who truly deserved it and would've only continued the Fire Nation on its path to glory. I am the rightful Fire Lord of the Fire Nation".

"You sound just like Ozai," said Katara finding her confidence. His cold heartless voice and deathly glare would make one think so, even if they had never met the man, but just heard the stories of the recent Fire Lord. "And Zuko is a far better Fire Lord then you or Ozai can ever be."

After hearing her last words, he slapped her forcefully across the cheek. She fell to the ground surprised. She rubbed the spot in her cheek where he had hit her, it stung more then she anticipated.

"Do you wish to join him? I only kept you because I hoped you'd be easy," he said as she regained her posture.

She was about to slap him across the face herself, but he had caught her wrist in midair. "I'll take that as a yes," he said almost menacingly.

"Guard!" he barked, still holding her wrist firmly. She struggled against his grip, but soon realized that his refusal to let go was a sign that she had sealed her fate, and he wasn't letting her running away or backing down. Seconds later guards marched into the room.

Turning his head slightly towards the guards in the doorway, in a commanding voice he said, "See to it that she is taken to the Dragon Rouges, out by the harbor, they'll know what to do with her."

She glanced at the palace guards then at Ozaian, thinking about what they were going to do with her once she was taken to these so called 'Dragon Rouges', whatever they were. Thoughts of curiosity and confusion raced through her mind. But merely the thought or even the small chance of seeing her love again was too dominating in her decision making.

She yanked her wrist free of Ozaian's grip, knowing he had purposely loosened it for her. Grabbing the cloak that sat on the foot of her bed she walked towards the guards in the doorway, while donning the cloak around her shoulders. She could only hope for the best as they frog marched her through the halls of the palace.

In the midst of the palace's maze that were known as halls or corridors. An old maid came up to Katara, ignoring the guards that had stopped dead in their tracks. She took Katara's hands in hers she said, "I wish you luck milady, and please…" Katara felt her press something small and what seemed like cold metal into her palm. "Keep safe," she continued, pressing Katara's palms together.

There was a distressed look in the maids eyes even though her voice was calm, almost soothing. But, Katara knew what she meant, that whatever she had slipped into her palm, wasn't meant to be seen by anyone but her and was too remain a secret. Katara nodded to the elder maid telling her that she understood what she was doing. She tried to smile or even say thank you but her nerves were too stricken and stressed to do anything that was somewhat cheerful.

The maid understood without any explanation, she gave a kind smile and walked away, leaving Katara with the guards.

The Guards continued their march after the maid's departure. Katara slipped her hands under her cloak, and placed whatever the maid had given her in the pocket of her dress. She figured she would look at it later when she was alone.

They led her down through the back way of the palace, through a few secret passageways, and eventually out to the harbor.

They walked down across the rows and rows of ships waiting to set sail within the next day or two. They piers were quiet and still during the night, compared to busyness they faced during the day. The only things moving were the four guards and Katara who they were escorting.

Katara clutched her cloak pulling it around her tightly. The night air and the sea winds created a crisp, cold temperature. Colder then the usual Fire Nation clothes were made to handle. She was happy she brought her cloak, she feared if she didn't she would be shivering constantly. She usually liked the cold, since she grew up in the South Pole. But after living with Zuko for a few years she had become spoiled by the Fire Nation's warm climate.

They soon came to a ship at the end of the pier. It was a regular Fire Nation ship, similar to those used for the navy during the war. As they got closer, Katara spied three men waiting lazily at the foot of the plank. She couldn't quite pick the nation they were from, she figured they were foreign mercenaries, due to the way they were dressed. They wore a mix of navy blue, black, and dark green clothes and armor.

"Is this her?" one of them said as they stood in front of the ship's plank.

"Yep," said one the guards. One of them grabbed her by the arm and shoved her toward the mercenaries. She stumbled slightly not expecting to be shoved.

As the guards left, the mercenaries shackled her hands. After that they led her up the plank of the ship. Once they were on the dock Katara spotted 50, no 60 other mercenaries all dressed similar, all hanging around the dock lazily waiting to receive orders of some sort.

Katara sighed as she let go of any hope of escape attempts, knowing that it would be almost impossible.

They led her down to the prison hold and before she knew it she was locked away in a small cell her hands shackled, alone, and no closer to finding Zuko or finding out where he was.

As she sat alone she thought about the night's events. Was she too rash or too sudden in her decisions?

"_What if they already killed Zuko, and plan on doing the same to me? Did I just sentence myself to death, and before I could warn Aang or Sokka of what was going on?_

She laid down on the cold metal floor, using her cloak as a sort of blanket. She soon fell asleep, all the while choking back tears. Only wishing she would see her love again.

* * *

In a dark and distant prison, on an inhabited island, a young man sat against the wall of his cell. His face clad in iron, making him unrecognizable, he too was wishing he would see his love again.

* * *

So here you go 2nd chappy. Yay!

I wanted to be able to get this up before I left for the weekend, so I didn't want to keep you guys waiting.

Also thanks for the tips, I'm obviously new to FanFiction, so I appreciate any help whatsoever.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't know when I'll get the next one up, if i'm taking to long just say so

-See Ya:)


	3. The Truth:Part 1

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 3**

**The Truth: Part One **

_A Fire Nation royal vessel chugged across the expanse of the big blue, heading homeward. On the horizon the sun was setting, it was twilight, and the darkness of night was quickly sweeping across the sky. The shipped continued on its path across the sea, unaware and unprepared for the approaching danger. For several smaller ships, hiding in the darkness, sneaked up on the royal vessel, preparing to attack. They would finally have their revenge, and their redemption._

_Meanwhile on the ship, a young Fire Lord sat in his office, conversing with some of his council members, and generals._

_Suddenly an injured crew member stumbled into the office, reporting that the ship was being over run by an unknown band of rouges. Everyone, even though they were taken completely by surprise, prepared to fight._

_The rouges stormed throughout the ship, killing every one in their path. The attack was like a tsunami, unexpected yet powerful. They raged their way into the room killing everyone who raised a weapon to fight them. The young Fire Lord fought back all he could, but he was easily over come, due to the fact that he was outnumbered 10 to 1._

_As a rouge raised a blade to end his life, a voice in the doorway commanded him not too, saying that he wanted him alive._

_'But sir you said to leave none alive' _

_'I'm well aware of what I said, but those that kill their own flesh and blood don't die of old age'_

_The young Fire Lord was injured and fighting unconsciousness, yet he understood every word that the mystery man meant. _

_'Take him down to the prison hold' commanded the man in the doorway. _

_Men grabbed the young Fire Lord and began to half-drag him half-march him to the brig below. He was too weak and injured to fight back._

_As they passed through the threshold of the door way, he was able to see the man who killed his men and overrun his ship. He was the spitting image of him, his identical twin, without the scar that was imbedded on his flesh years before._

_Before they started their march down the hallway, his twin stopped them, pulled out a knife and slashed the knife down the side of the Fire Lord's face, leaving a trail of blood from his eyebrow, down across his scar to the cheek, avoiding his eye._

_The dragged him down the brig where he was sealed up in a cell for a few days until they reached a deserted island, its only occupant, a dark prison, where very few people have left alive, even if you were a guard._

_They dragged him down through the prison, black hood over his head. They tossed him into a cell eventually. Against his will they locked an iron mask around his face so no one would recognize him._

_Before they closed and locked the steel door, his twin stood in the doorway, only having a few words to say before he left. Most of it the young Fire lord phased out of due to his injuries, but only a few words actually caught his attention. _

'_I wouldn't try to escape; you wouldn't want to burn your beloved would you' _

'_Is she really as beautiful as they say they are, well I'll just have to find out for myself.'_

_With that the door to his cell closed as well as the door to his freedom._

_

* * *

_

Hours later Katara awoke with a jolt from a shaky slumber. She sat up in her cell shivering, missing the warmth of her Fire Nation home, as well as Zuko's warmth. She pulled her cloak tightly around her, in hopes of easing the chill within her bones.

She remembered the recent dream she just had. _'Was that what really happen?' _She highly doubted it knowing her mind had a way of playing tricks on her from time to time.

_'But then again if Ozaian is Zuko's identical twin brother, all Ozaian would have to do is get a fire bender to scar his left eye, and make it look at least somewhat identical to Zuko's.'_

There was no window of any sort in her cell, which made enabled her to tell if it was night or day outside.

Hours passed and she found her self bored stiff. The only things that she could do were sit, breath, think, sleep, and listen to the sound of the metal shackles around her wrists clank whenever she moved her hands.

She really didn't understand the point of being chained anymore; she was locked away for safe keeping it seemed. There was nothing to bend with, and no one had paid her a sort of visit ever since she was put in her cell. She hated having cold metal around her wrists all the time.

_'Cold Metal'_

Her brain suddenly struck a cord. She remembered that whatever the old maid had given her felt like cold metal. She reached into her pocket, ignoring the difficulty the shackles gave her. She grasped it within her pocket, pulling out her hand. When she opened her palm she eyed the object curiously. Wondering why the maid had given her this. It was a small, ornate sliver key, attached to a matching sliver chain.

She looked at the locks on her handcuffs, but the keyholes were too large. She glanced at the metal door and could tell from wherever she was sitting that the key wouldn't fit in that lock either.

So for safekeeping she placed it around her neck, hiding it under her dress. She feared that if they saw her with it, they would take it away from her. She didn't want that to happen, because something deep inside of her told her that it would come in handy eventually. Just as the cold metal fell against her chest, the door to her cell opened. A guard marched in grabbed her by the arm, roughly pulling her to her feet, and half dragged her out of the cell.

Katara could only hope that wherever he was taking her would be to where Zuko was.

* * *

They placed a black hood over her head as they led her through what seemed like a prison, due to the cold stale air and the sound of stone under heavy boots.

She couldn't understand where they were taking her. A wave of fear rushed over her. She was sick of being kept in the dark all the time; she wanted answers more importantly she wanted the truth.

Suddenly they stopped. Katara almost ran into the guard in front of her. But the guard paid it no mind as he roughly took the hood off her head, and began unlocking her shackles. She glanced at her surroundings. They were in a hallway made entirely out of dull gray stone. Except for the solid metal door they stood in front of.

She felt her handcuffs fall away from her wrists as the steel door opened. They shoved her inside the dark room. Quickly closing it and locking it before she could react.

Katara looked into the darkness of the room; she couldn't see a thing, with it being pitch black, and no windows.

She saw no one else in the cell with her, which could've meant only one thing. Zuko was dead and they were going to kill her as well.

She silently cursed herself for being so stupid. _'Why couldn't I have left sooner? If I did I could've found Aang or my brother and spread the news that the fire lord wasn't Zuko, and help stop a war from starting. Why? Why? Why?'_

She felt herself on the verge of tears.

She felt around in the darkness for a wall of sorts. After a few moments of aimless wandering, she felt it and was surprised by its coldness. She noticed that the walls were slightly curved instead of being perfectly flat and straight.

She felt something under her shoes. Using the wall as a guide she scooted down to the floor. Feeling what ever it was under her shoes, she realized it was hay.

She gathered what hay she could find to sleep on, or at least enough to make a place to rest her head. After placing the cloak over her hay pile, she laid down. She buried her face in her cloak, and let the tears loose from her sapphire eyes, crying herself to sleep. In her mind Zuko was dead, and she only wished they would kill her soon, because the sooner they did the sooner she would be with her beloved Zuko again.

* * *

Well here it is 3rd chappie

I hope you like it, cause this was kind of a bitch to right, and mostly because my cat wouldn't let me type a single word without clawing at my hands. I swear he loves to annoy me.

But anyway I hope you like this chapter, if it gets corny let me know, or if it seems I left out a part plzz let me know, not just because I love getting reviews, but so I can make reading fanfics more enjoyable for everyone.

I'll try to update soon

see ya:)

* * *


	4. Departure and Reunion

* * *

_**Warning!!!! A LOT OF ZUTARA FLUFF, but yet it still is kinda cute. This is my partial flashback chapter, and the flashback is mostly alot of fluffyness between Zuko and Katara. So I hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Force of Iron

Chapter 4

Departure and Reunion

_A woman yelled in her bed chamber from the pain of childbirth. She heaved and groaned as the child within her made its way into the world. It was the middle of the night and she was exhausted. Finally she relaxed as a newborn's cries echoed through the room._

_'It's a boy,' exclaimed the midwife proudly, as she handed the newborn babe to its mother._

_Sweat dripped from her brow, her hair was plastered to her scalp from the moisture. Yet despite how tired she was, she smiled as she looked at her wailing son._

_As she held him in her arms he slept peacefully. Suddenly the now familiar pains of childbirth returned. Thankfully the midwife was still around to help._

_A maid took the newborn son from his mother's arms, and rushed him off to see his father, while his mother gave birth to yet another child._

_Hours later another son was born, the spitting image of his brother. Upon seeing her second son, she was as happy as she was when her 1__st__ son was born, but a flash of fear flashed across her. The fear of what her husband would do to one of the boys if he had two legitimate heirs to the throne, when he only needed one. She thought no longer as she passed out from exhaustion._

_Outside the dawn was breaking across the horizon. It indeed was the beginning for the two boys, but also the beginning of a long hard struggle, that would affect many for years to come._

_

* * *

_Katara awoke from another shaky slumber. Having had another dream that left her questioning 'was that what happened?' when she awoke.

She pulled her face out of her cloak, glancing around her cell. For some unknown reason the cell was slightly brighter. It was still dark but not the pitch black darkness it was when she arrived.

She could see the cell's interior, it was round, with hay scattered in various piles across the floor. It was made entirely out of the same dull gray stone the prison was constructed out of. Then a mix of fear and curiosity leapt inside her when she saw a figure, lying across the room. She soon realized that it was a human, a man, obviously sleeping. His clothes were dirty and torn.

As she approached the figure she realized that his clothes were once nice, those of a ranking high official, his face was unrecognizable, because it was concealed in what appeared to be an iron mask of sorts.

As she knelt beside him, tears sprung to her eyes upon seeing something that she once had and had only given to one person and one person only.

* * *

**Flashback**

Katara lounged on a couch in her bedchamber her nose buried within a book. The afternoon sun shone through the windows, letting the rays of light dance across the floor of the room.

Soon Zuko entered, dressed in leisure clothes, leisure compared to the fire lord robes he usually wore. His short hair was down from his topknot. He had grown within the past few years; he was no longer the teenager that had anger issues, and hunted the avatar to only eventually join him. It was obvious he was a man now.

He looked over at his Katara, lounging in the couch reading. The sun's rays penetrated the room's curtains and danced across her dark skin and chocolate hair. He still found it hard to believe that he could win the love of a beauty like her.

Katara looked up from her book, as Zuko sat down on the couch next to her.

"Hey you!" she said cheerfully, as he kissed her. He kissed her on the lips strongly and passionately, holding it for a few seconds longer then he usually did.

When he let go she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, its just the council needs me to go to Ba Sing Se for a few months, maybe even longer then that."

"Zuko, something else is bothering you, and I want to know what so I can help," she said, placing her hand on top of his.

"I just have this eerie feeling that something bad is going to happen…to you," he said putting his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Zuko, nothing bad is going to happen, I'm almost certain," she said in a calm voice, leaning her head on his shoulder.

He looked down at his betrothed, at the woman he loved most dearly. He rubbed her shoulder and said, "But still I don't think you would like spending the next few months in the palace all by yourself or going on what is most likely a senseless political trip to the Earth Kingdom."

"You're probably right; the only joy I would get out of it would be spending time with you."

"I'm flattered, but that would probably only come at night," he said, growling seductively into her ear. She giggled, thankful to the spirits that she could be this happy.

Looking up at Zuko she said, "If it wasn't for these blasted traditions I would have you right."

"Bet you would," he said jokingly. She jabbed him annoyingly, afterwards he started kissing her again. Several beautiful moments passed until they broke apart.

"So were would you like to go, say the place and I have a ship ready for you to take you there."

"I wouldn't mind paying my family a visit."

"You want to go down to the South Pole?"

"Yes"

He eased in to kiss her neck, "Very well then, if that is what you wish my queen."

As he kissed her neck she let passionate moans escape her lips, how they both wanted each other right then and there. But according to tradition, as it was in all nations, an engaged couple must practice celibacy until their wedding night. If they failed to do so it would result in bad luck.

They had already slept together once, the night they became engaged. But it wasn't until the next morning they were reminded of the tradition that currently kept them from the intimacy they longed for.

Soon the day came when they were supposed to leave. Zuko being the gentleman he was escorted Katara to her ship. Before she stepped on the ramp and left, she took Zuko's hand in hers and said, "I have something for you to remember me by."

"What could that possibly be?" he said curiously.

Reaching into her pocket of the crimson dress she wore, she pulled out her mother's necklace. As she was about to tie it around his wrist, he said, "No I couldn't' take this it was your mother's."

"Please," she said pleadingly. "This necklace is supposed to be given to the person one loves. I love you Zuko and I want you to have it."

With that he couldn't say no, he was touched by the gesture. He let Katara tie it around his right wrist, the pendant resting on the inside of his arm. As she securely tightened the knot he kissed her goodbye. He couldn't deny the feeling inside of him that something was going to go wrong. But as he pulled her close kissing her, he knew he would eventually see her again. He could only hope it would be soon.

He had a plan: get to Ba Sing Se, settle the disputes between their nations and get home before anything bad happened. The same eerie feeling told him that only part of that would go as planned.

They said their goodbyes once again, before going their separate ways, knowing deep within their hearts they would see each other again.

**End Flashback

* * *

**It was her necklace, the necklace she had given to Zuko before he left. She had to know if this was her Zuko, or if it was a cruel trick Ozaian wanted to play on her. She gingerly took the iron mask in her hands, examining it to see if there was a way for her to remove it. The only thing she found was a small lock on the back of his head. It was a rather small keyhole. Then she remembered the key that was hidden under her dress.

She hastily pulled it out of her dress, and over her head. She tried to push it into the lock; her hands trembled constantly, making it hard for her to place the key within the lock correctly. After several attempts she finally got it in, it slid in perfectly, a perfect fit. Turning the key with a rough jerk, the lock snapped open.

She carefully pulled the mask off his face to reveal the Zuko she thought she had lost. Tears rapidly fell from her eyes, upon seeing his face. It was covered with scars, bruises and dried blood. Taking his face in her hands she laid his head in her lap. With one hand she supported his head, while the other checked for a heartbeat.

His face was warm, and she could feel a faint heartbeat. She let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that he was still alive. He looked so serene and peaceful with his eyes closed. His hair was matted and greasy, and some parts of the skin on his neck seemed a little irritated. Probably the mask's doing.

Being the healer she was she needed to heal him, and increase his chances of survival. She removed her hand from under his head, looking for water to summon and heal him with. She glanced at her palm to find it covered with Zuko's blood. She let out sob, seeing that Zuko's head was still bleeding.

He was stuck in a cell for three months, with a head wound that never got a chance to heal properly. The mask didn't do much to help either. She couldn't, no wouldn't think of the blood loss he suffered.

There was a small water jug sitting not far from where the couple was. Summoning the water, gathering it around her palm, she checked to see if it was clean. Seeing that it was pure she began to heal Zuko, starting with the head wound. She cleaned out the wound, and stopped the bleeding, giving it the chance to heal properly. She then cleaned out his hair, and then began healing his face. Most of the scars and bruises disappeared completely. But one of them, that sat on the left side of his face, tracing through his scar, remained slightly. She healed it all she could but it left a small white streak, down the side of his face

She soon found some minor injuries, scattered across his arms, legs, and stomach. She healed them easily. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he got them from a fight or battle of some kind. It was then that she remembered her dream that she had the other night. _'Maybe that was what happened; that was where he could've gotten all these injuries.'_

Seeing that her work was done she deposited the water back into the jug. She felt for a heartbeat again, it was stronger this time, he was even breathing stronger, compared to his shallow breath before.

"Zuko," she said, hoping he would wake up soon. She had healed him all she could, it would be up to him now, if he decided to wake up or not. She shuddered at the thought of never seeing his amber eyes again, the kind, yet fierce eyes that she knew and loved.

His mouth was open slightly. For a second she thought she heard him say something. Placing her hand on his cheek she said, "Zuko, it's me Katara."

A few moments of silence passed, and she heard nothing. Tears sprung to her eyes, thinking that what she heard was really wishful thinking. She watched his face for any sign of movement or life.

His eyes started to shudder, while the lids remained closed. He inhaled a deep breath and said in almost a breathily voice, "Katara…"

Then his eyes opened.

* * *

4th chappie I kinda feel like I'm on a roll, I mean I usually I have a busy schedule, and i thought i would never have enough time to do fanfiction, but here i am posting chapters to my story weekly. I'm so happy:)

I kinda felt like this chapter was a little raunchy to be rated T, so I have considered moving it up to M rating. I'm not going to do sex scenes, I'm just going to hint at the sex (in later chapters). I you think I should please say so.

Also, I don't mean to nag, or sound needy but... Reviews People!! I didn't get a single review for chp. 3. Is my story really that bad or boring, come on. (you don't have to review its not mandatory, but I just appreciate a little feedback from time to time.)

also thanks to all the peeps that added my story to their story alert, those made me feel special.

until next time:)


	5. Continuum, Awaken, and Reunion

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* * *

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Warning slightly M, not full M, still T, like PG-13

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**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 5**

**Continuum, Awaken, and Reunion

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**

Ozaian sat at his brother's desk, reading through documents that concerned the Fire Nation one way or another. He rubbed his temples in frustration, and exhaustion. He knew that the job that came with being the fire lord was a lot of work, but how his brother handled it, as well as maintained a relationship with a woman, was beyond his mind. He barely had enough time to handle the job of running the country. And if his plan was to go accordingly he needed to have everything under control.

An assistant of his walked into the office. He was a tall burly man in his late 50s, with a stoic face and firm jaw. With a look in his eye that might as well have read evil, pain, and death. Obviously not a pleasant person. He was an old comrade of Ozaian, had been with him since the day they began their conquest. The man, Lucin, had even served Ozai near the end of the war. But when the war ended, Lucin found himself out of a job, broke, and homeless. He had blamed his troubles on the young Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang. Not just for wrecking his life, but he also believed that they had corrupted the Fire Nation's purpose by ending the war. He was a firm believer in Ozai's policies as well as the thought that the Fire Nation was destined to rule the world.

Then he met Ozaian and his life began again. Ozaian was young and looking for firm believers in Ozai's beliefs. Lucin was the first to join. Now he stood in the office of what was supposed to be the Fire Lord's office, Ozaian's second in command, and number one general.

"Ozaian…" he began, but was cut off by a simple hand gesture. Ozaian looked up from the desk and said, "You know if were going to get away with this, you should partake in the scheme and call me by my brother's name."

"Of course…my Lord," he said sternly.

"Even better," said Ozaian pleased, leaning back in his chair. "So what news do you have for me?" he continued.

"I have the results of the survey you requested…" he said, placing a scroll on the desk.

"And?" he questioned eyeing the scroll, then Lucin.

"I'm afraid you won't be pleased, sir."

"And why would that be General?" he questioned, his words and throat lined with venom.

"One. The people prefer Fire Lord Zuko, rather then former Fire Lord Ozai. Mostly for obvious reasons, such as they have more money in their pockets, and are able to put more food on the table. Two..."

"Yes, my brother did improve the economy substantially, but why would they refuse to go to war?" said Ozaian, growing impatient.

"The citizens of the Fire Nation don't want a war because they claimed they suffered during the war. They lost sons and daughters who were soldiers, they were poor, and claimed that many starved to death because of the war," said Lucin almost sarcastically, as if those kinds of problems meant nothing to him.

"Then why are we listening to those peasants. They only care for themselves instead of their country," said Ozaian standing up from the desk and walking over to the window. He stood there for a few minutes in silence. Lucin stood at his original spot waiting for the unknown son of Ozai to say something.

"Who cares, we don't need those peasants anyway. We already have legions of men at our command, plus the ones we have obtained. We should just proceed with the plan, with or without them."

Lucin believed in what Ozaian was saying but, he had to give him the facts or else the entire plan would fail, and Ozaian would blame him. He would only lose everything again. So he said, "My Lord I agree with what you say, but we at least need those scum of the earth that they call commoners trust. At least their trust."

"What's the worse that could happen?" Ozaian cut in, annoyed.

Lucin began to slowly stroll over to where the phony Fire Lord was standing. "As you know, your family has ruled this country for hundreds of years, long before the war. They came to power due to an ancient civil war that eventually led to a revolution. The old government was thrown out, and the people encouraged your ancestor to take over the rule of the country."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Ozaian cut in again, his impatience on edge.

"It shows that the people of the Fire Nation are capable of over-throwing the government if they don't like it, or strongly disagree with it. If we don't have the peasants trust, they might over-throw us, and our plan would be ruined. Not to mention your family's bloodline would end."

Ozaian sighed and stepped away from the window. He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to think while contemplating it all. "What is it that we can do to convince them that I am my brother? If they trusted my brother they are bound to trust someone who comes across as him."

"Well the people adored the thought that your brother was marrying someone outside of the Fire Nation especially that it was Water Master Katara from the southern water tribe. They absolutely loved her."

"What does she have to do with any of this?" questioned Ozaian gruffly, while grabbing the scroll that sat on his desk and reading it.

"People have noticed her absence, if you bring her back possibly even marry her that is after you kill your brother…" he was cut off when Ozaian whacked the scroll across his face. "I will not kill my brother, especially my twin. Have you not heard of the curses upon those that kill their own flesh and blood," Ozaian said angrily.

Lucin sighed at his fear of superstition, in his mind if someone was a threat; you kill them and get rid of them by any means necessary. Zuko was a threat, and if it was up to him, Zuko would've been dead months ago. He secretly feared Zuko, but never showed it. He feared Zuko because Zuko didn't fear authority, while Lucin was always taught to fear and respect it, which is why he got into the army in the first place. Zuko wasn't afraid to defy authority, like when he betrayed his father to help the avatar, or when he escaped from the boiling rock.

He ignored the sting of the slap and continued, "Anyway, bring Mistress Katara back to the palace, marry her, or fake the marriage, do whatever you want with your brother, pass yourself off as your brother for a few months, then slowly and steadily ease the thought of war into the people's minds. For instance you could convince them that the Earth Kingdom poses as a threat to national security. By merely having a few of the rouges pass themselves off as Earth Kingdom soldiers, and having them attack a small port town. If they don't believe you the first time, keep it going until they want vengeance."

"You are very wise for a general, and your wisdom that is the reason why you are my right hand," said Ozaian pleased. Lucin prided himself at Ozaian's remark.

Ozaian paced the room thinking about the idea Lucin had, he would go along with it, but he was thinking of a way if he could speed it up, so he wouldn't be an old man by the time he was victorious. The gears in his mind clicked and clanked, thinking of ways to make his plan more extreme.

Though he looked exactly like his twin, he was nothing like his brother, for he was too much like his father and sister when it came to war.

* * *

For several months he laid in a prison cold, and alone.

He missed his home, he missed his love.

His life in that cell seemed dark, and desolate.

The injuries he received were slowly claiming his life.

Pain constantly shot through his nerves, he wished it would end, he also wished Katara was here so that she could end the constant pain, and he also wouldn't be alone.

He hated his life, for being so terribly unlucky; the only lucky thing about his life was that he had the love of the only women he ever truly loved.

He hated the mask they latched onto his head, imprisoning his identity, and causing him more pain.

After weeks and weeks alone, his pain finally ceased, as he allowed unconsciousness to claim him.

The only thing left was for his life to end.

He felt himself grow weaker and weaker everyday, every hour, every minute.

Then something happened, he didn't know what, just that something changed.

Even unconscious he could feel warm hands touch his clammy skin.

He felt the mask fall away from his face, and the pains in his body lessen, completely disappeared.

He felt himself grow stronger, by the second.

He heard a familiar voice call his name.

He willed himself to say her name, to scream it, to shout it out of joy, but only a whisper escaped him yet he kept trying.

He heard her say something again, worry and sadness lined her voice.

He willed himself to awake, to escape this mental prison he was in.

He screamed for her again, hoping it would help him pull through.

His body started to awaken; he could feel the life rising inside of him.

Then after days, weeks, even months of darkness, there was suddenly light.

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes to see the face of the women he loved. Katara looked down at him, his head her lap, her eyes red from the tears. He smiled happy to see her alive and well.

No words needed to be said as she bent over to kiss him. Their lips connected, releasing the much missed passion. He tangled one of his hands in her hair, pushing her face closer to his. He soon found the strength to sit on his own knees, all the while kissing her.

They eventually broke apart for air and let their foreheads rest on one another's. He heard Katara let out a choked sob. "What's wrong," he asked, concerned. She kept her head down, trying to hide her sobs. He gently nudged her chin up so that he could look her in the eye.

"I thought you were dead, I thought I lost you, I probably almost did."

He hugged her close letting her sob into his shoulder. He breathed in the scent of her hair, just realizing how much he missed the simple things about her, even the sea spray scent of her chocolate locks.

"Please don't scare me like that again," she continued.

"You know I would never want too," he whispered into her ear, he hated seeing her cry, knowing the anguish it caused both of them.

Seconds later her crying ceased. She pulled away from his shoulder to look into the face of the man she loved. Hours earlier she thought he was dead and now here he was, sitting right in front of her, arms around her waist, looking at her with his eyes filled with love and lust. She couldn't agree or hope for more.

They both slowly leaned in to kiss one another. "I missed you so much," she said breathlessly. "I missed you too," he responded. Their lips intertwined once more. This time more intense, as the fire began to grow stronger. Water boiled, and steam was starting to release.

She felt herself being pulled into his lap, the hem of her dress inching upward by warm hands, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist.

They both broke apart for air once more, the gasped for the precious element as they looked into each other's eyes that burned with the same desire and passion. Their lips entwined once more in a passionate kiss. Katara found herself being lifted up by Zuko and gently laid down on the makeshift pillow of her cloak and hay. She felt his weight on top of her and couldn't help but sigh contently, knowing how much they both missed this.

They said it was bad luck to have sex before the sacred vows of marriage were exchanged, but according to them they were already in over their heads in bad luck. (I'm meaning they were going to have sex in a prison cell, of all romantic places to do it.) They kept to the tradition and bad things still happened to them, what was the point of adding a little more.

They let passion consume them both, letting all worries, of the world and what tomorrow had in store for them fade away.

Little did they know that whatever fate had planned was nothing like what the universe and destiny had in store for them.

* * *

Wow, Prison sex, and that classic dramatic musical theme, DUH! DUH! DUUUH! So here you go 5th chapie, hope you guys aren't losing intrest. I kinda had fun writing this chapter and I don't know why, maybe its the whole classic political corruption theme. I love that stuff, as well as romance, obviously. So I hope you had fun reading. MOst of this week coming up is alot of free time for me, so I'll probably have the next one up soon, but then again no garuntees. YOu'll find I'm incredibly lazy, with an overactive imagination. Seriously I daydream alot, thats were I come up with all this stuff, and why am I still talking? I'm sorry, I should let you get on with your lives.

See ya!:)

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	6. So It Begins

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 6**

**So It Begins

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Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks and nothing happened. They were kept cooped up in the cell for what seemed like forever. The only visits that were paid were from guards that slid some food through a small opening in the door, to keep them alive.

They had made love several times since their reunion. But they knew that it was only a matter of time until Ozaian decided to dispose of them or do something horrible with them for his own gain.

Katara lay curled up next to her beloved that she had missed so much over the past few months. Zuko was asleep, but Katara lay awake, thinking. She eventually sat up hugging her knees to her chest, with a worried look on her face.

Zuko stirred in his sleep and eventually opened his eyes to find that his Katara was no longer beside him. He sat up and pulled her close, asking her what was wrong.

She responded with a sigh and said, "It's just that, Ozaian wants to destroy the world, and here we are stuck in here with no way to stop it, or warn anyone about it. It's as if he planned the whole thing."

"Yeah he probably did, I've thought about that several times since you showed up here," said Zuko kissing her forehead.

She looked up at him with her sapphire eyes and said, "Do you have any idea what we should or could do?"

"I have absolutely no idea," he sighed. He wished there was a way, a way they could set things right and stop whatever Ozaian was planning. But what could they do, their situation was as good as hopeless.

"But," he said. "On the bright side he has to convince an entire nation that he is the rightful Fire Lord and give the country good reasons to go to war. It took me awhile to convince them that a war was unnecessary, and peace was the right solution," he continued, a spark of hope in his voice.

His words relaxed Katara slightly, but the overall worry still remained. She suffered from the previous war, they both suffered from it, and they wouldn't wish what they had gone through on any one else. They could only hope that someone would realize what was going on before it was too late.

Katara snuggled up closer to Zuko, wanting to forget everything that was wrong with their lives for just a few moments.

* * *

Ozaian stood on the deck of his ship, leaning on the railing, looking out onto the sea that stretched on for miles into the horizon. The ship chugged along its course, as Ozaian's impatience grew.

He would redeem his father's name, and his forefather's legacy. The plan was being set in motion, the gears and cocks were just starting to turn. Yet he wished that they would still move faster. He had spent the past few weeks planning and preparing for the oncoming storm. Now it was moving slowly, too slow for his taste.

He looked up from the sea to the gray sky. A thunder-storm was brewing, but he didn't care they would reach their destination soon.

* * *

Zuko sat on his knees, kissing Katara, who sat in his lap, in a rather inappropriate way. Zuko was shirtless and Katara was in her underwear. Yeah, they were using their time in prison to go at it like rabbits, but they didn't care. They saw it as a way to make up for the time they were kept apart. As well as a way to forget about everything that was wrong with their lives and the approaching war.

Suddenly the steel door to their cell creaked open. At first they paid it no mind, thinking it was just a guard sliding in a tray of slightly edible food. But when the door opened fully they stopped dead in their tracks and released one another from their embrace.

"Well, well Zuko, you certainly know how to pick the right women. The beautiful, yet easy kind," said a familiar voice in the door way. His face was hidden by shadow, until he stepped into the cell, to reveal the face of the person they least wanted to see, Ozaian, dressed in Fire Nation armor, with his hair in a topknot. He looked deathly like Zuko.

His cold eyes wandered over to Katara, and looked greedily at her half-naked form. Zuko growled at him from deep within his throat. Katara, after seeing Ozaian look at her with lust in his eyes, she snatched up the cloak that lay within inches of her, and wrapped it around her body, hiding it from Ozaian, only letting her toes stick out.

She only liked it when Zuko and Zuko only looked at her liked that, if it was any other man she hated it with a passion, especially when she looked as vulnerable as she did. She felt like she was for Zuko's eyes and Zuko's only.

Ozaian looked disappointed after she covered up. He sighed and said, "Anyway let's cut to the chase. Zuko you know as well as I do how hard it is to convince the people of the Fire Nation what is best for them."

"What do you want Ozaian?" asked Zuko gruffly, as he stood up face to face with Ozaian. Even though Zuko was the rightful Fire Lord he looked like a mere peasant compared to how Ozaian was dressed. Zuko's short hair was loose, and what was left of his clothes were in ruin. Yet the resemblance between the two remained.

"You know what I want. I want this country to be great again. I want to achieve out forefathers' dream of world domination. I want…"

"If you're asking for my help to convince the Fire Nation that war is what is best for them, you're getting none of that," said Zuko cutting off Ozaian.

"I wasn't asking for your help, believe me I already have that part covered. What I need help with is convincing these worthless commoners that I am you." It was hard to pinpoint the feeling he was trying to get across by his tone. Katara sat on the floor her eyes darting back and forth between the two men, wanting to see who did what first.

"And what makes you think I would help you with that after what you have done?" Zuko said anger apparent in his voice. He looked Ozaian right in the eye, his eyes filled with anger and hatred.

"I was never asking for your help that would have been the last thing I would ask for. As you well know, people have noticed Miss Katara's absence from the Fire Nation, due to the fact that she has been here with you," said Ozaian eyeing Katara. Zuko and Katara exchanged worried glances, both worried about what he had in mind.

Yet he continued, "Your marriage to Katara is scheduled to take place within two weeks. If the marriage doesn't take place people will become suspicious. In order for me to obtain what it is that I want. I need…"

He was cut off when Katara said, "Like I would ever marry you, believe me you would be the last person on earth that I would even consider," she snapped at him.

"I wasn't asking for your hand in marriage, the whole thing would be fake, it's just a scheme you need to partake in, and make the people think I'm him," he said pointing at Zuko.

"And what makes you think I will help you with that?" Katara snapped at him again.

"Because if you don't, I'm afraid your beloved Zuko here would have to pay the price…with his life," Ozaian said with an evil smirk on his face.

Katara was speechless; she couldn't believe the words she just heard. The marriage would be fake and all, but she was scared Ozaian would try to take advantage of her, like he had done a few weeks ago when she was living at the palace. She looked up at Zuko for guidance; the emotion on his face was hard to read. The gears in Zuko's mind were turning, contemplating what Ozaian had just said.

Ozaian turned to Zuko and said, "You shouldn't worry brother, she is your fiancée. You have my word that she will be unharmed, and I won't lay a finger on her. She'll be treated like any other Fire Lady would be treated."

Katara couldn't help but notice the venom that lined his words. The offer sounded nice but, she didn't want to be anywhere near Ozaian, or play a part in the world's destruction. She also noticed how he called Zuko brother, how that was so was hard for her to understand

Ozaian could easily see that they were both thinking about the offer. "I'll let you two think about it, you'll have until tomorrow to decide," he said impatiently, he didn't want to have to wait; he wanted to get it over with, and continue with his plan.

He left the cell without another word. The steel door slammed closed behind him, leaving the couple alone once more.

They were silent for a few moments. Zuko took his place next to Katara once more. Katara looked at him trying to read his expression. His stare was too the ground, he was thinking about Ozaian's offer. She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to her sentence. She didn't want to take up Ozaian's offer, yet she didn't want to loose her Zuko. She gingerly touched the scar on his face, gently rubbing the old he had received years ago, then tracing the new one from months ago.

_'If there is only a way to get out of this mess without any lose of life...or any new scars.'_

He looked up at her, after feeling her touch. She was the only person he let touch his scar, and the only person he ever will let.

A few more moments of silence passed, until Zuko finally said, "I think you should accept his offer."

"What! No! How can I? I can't...I-I won't leave you here!!" she said shocked by his words. He pulled her into a warm embrace trying to comfort her. She relaxed in his arms; she always found comfort from the warmth.

"Katara look at it this way. If your out of this cell you will have the chance to warn Aang of what's going on, and help stop what ever is going to happen," said Zuko as calmly as he could muster, when really he was as nervous and anxious as Katara was, except a lot less afraid. The whole idea was risky and he hated putting Katara in a risky situation such as this, but Ozaian promised she would be safe, and if she managed to warn Aang or somebody from the gang she would be even safer.

"This could be the chance we need, and maybe the only chance we get," he continued, he buried his face in her hair taking in the sea spray scent he loved.

She thought hard about Zuko's words. He was right; this could be their only chance. She pulled away from his embrace and sadly nodded. She didn't want to leave him again, all alone in this cell. But if agreeing with Ozaian meant freedom for the both of them, she would do almost anything.

They spent the rest of the day and night talking over the possibilities of what would happen. They even came up with a small plan. Katara wouldn't alert anyone right away, so Ozaian wouldn't become suspicious. She would wait until it was absolutely necessary, and that would be after she found out what Ozaian was planning. She was going to be spying on one of the most powerful man in the world, she shuddered at the thought of what would happen to both of them if they failed.

They eventually fell asleep in each others arms, both hoping this wouldn't be their last night together. They were awoken when the door to their cell slammed open once more.

"So what your decision?" asked Ozaian impatiently from the doorway.

Katara looked at Zuko, hoping he would be the one to answer. But his eyes gave her the strength to do it herself. She looked Ozaian right in the eye and said," Yes I'll go along with your plan."

"Perfect!"

* * *

Well here you go 6th chappie!! Somewhat of a struggle writing it but I pulled through, sorry if it seems corny in any way shape or form. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, and I will try to make it better, if this one is not up to your standards. I absolutely love cliffhangers, writing or reading them(mostly reading), its a good way to keep people interested in whatever kind of story.

Until next time :)


	7. The Truth:Part 2

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 7**

**The Truth: Part 2

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Katara couldn't help but notice the venom that was soaked in the words that passed through his lips. She clung to Zuko's arm as if she was afraid he was going to disappear any second. Ozaian obviously noticed this and with his words lined with venom once more said, "Don't worry, Zuko will be tagging along with us…in the brig."

Katara wouldn't have been surprised if Ozaian could turn into a snake or was ever a serpent of sorts.

The two of them just stood there against the wall of the cell. They had put what was left of their clothes back on and waited for what was going to happen next. Zuko just stared at Ozaian with hate filled eyes, wanting him gone and out of his life. Knowing all Ozaian would ever want to do is destroy everything he built. Not to mention that if he ever hurt Katara, he had another thing coming. The thought then dawned on him that Ozaian would be keeping him in the prison hold of the ship, so if he ever did hurt Katara he would have no way of knowing.

Zuko wrapped the arm the Katara clung to around her small waist pulling her close. He could tell she was scared, and the simple act of pulling her close was an attempt to comfort her.

Ozaian stepped aside from the doors threshold, letting three guards enter. Katara immediately recognized them as the rouges she had seen on her way here, except they were dressed in Fire Nation armor. Two of them almost instinctively yanked Zuko from Katara's grasp, while the third had placed a firm grasp on her arm, preventing her from rebelling in any way.

They half dragged, half led Zuko out of the cell and out to the ship. Before they disappeared completely from site Katara saw them place heavy iron handcuffs around his wrists. She slightly cringed, seeing her love in chains, only wishing she could do something about it, but couldn't.

Even though Katara had stopped struggling, the rouge still kept a tight grip on her arm. She was afraid he was going to cut off her circulation sooner or later. Ozaian approached her slowly, loving how helpless and afraid she looked. He stood right in front of her, looking straight into her eyes, as he had done so many nights ago back at the palace. Fear once again ran up and down her spin. She missed how warm and safe Zuko made her feel, despite their location or situation they were in.

"You truly love Zuko, don't you?" he questioned slightly smirking, evilly of course.

"Of course," she replied in almost a whisper.

"Then I'll say that it would be best if you cooperated…with everything I say or else your beloved will unfortunately have to pay the price," he said moving his hand upward to let his fingertips graze the skin on her cheek, she cringed away from his touch. She would never, ever let him touch her.

Ozaian turned away, slightly disappointed, and began making his way towards the door. The rouge tugged on Katara's arm, following Ozaian out of the prison, and onto the ship that waited for them at the dock.

* * *

After they had dragged Zuko out of the prison and onto the ship, they led him to the prison hold of the vessel. His own brother was treating him like dirt, as a prisoner, who didn't even deserve something as valuable as freedom, or sunlight it seemed.

It was early morning outside in the open air on the deck of the ship. Zuko tried to soak up as much sun as he could before they dragged him below deck, away from the sunlight and his power source. It was the first time in months he had ever seen the sunshine, yet he was cut off from it all too quickly.

They took him down into the lower parts of the ship, were the cells were no longer classified as prison holds but as brigs. The usual prison holds were small steel rooms with steel doors as their only way in or out. Brigs were a series of iron bars, positioned vertically and horizontally so it fashioned into a small room, or also known as a cage. Usually used for keeping valuable cargo or goods in, now Ozaian was using it to keep Zuko locked away.

They removed Zuko's handcuffs before roughly shoving him into the brig and locking the door behind him. He felt like a caged animal, at least in the cell he felt somewhat human. The only dignity he had left it seemed were the dignities that Katara gave him.

He sloped down against the bars of the brig, until he was sitting on the ground. All he could do was wait until something happened, hopefully that something was Ozaian had died, or Katara was rescued by Aang or her brother. He let out a heavy sigh, wishing this was all just a dream he would soon wake up from.

* * *

Katara sat at the edge of the bed in one of the ship's cabins. She stared at the room before her, her mind brainstorming all possibilities of where she should start.

_'Spy on Ozaian. Okay were to start. Talk to him about his plan… while trying to seduce him. Eww! No! Um I could sneak around the ship_ _and try to eavesdrop. Yeah! That would work, but…'_

Her thoughts suddenly stopped when there was a knock at the door. "Yes," she automatically answered.

"Milady, I have some things for you. May I enter?" said a female voice from the other side of the door.

"Of course," she answered. The door opened and the elderly maid, that had approached Katara while she was being 'escorted' to where Zuko was a few weeks ago, stepped through the threshold.

"Oh, hello," greeted Katara when she recognized her. The maid walked up to the bed that Katara sat on and set down a pile of neatly folded clothes next to her. She briefly glanced at the pile, and was slightly relieved that she had new clothes. She had worn the same garb the entire time she stuck in the cell with Zuko. She knew she looked filthy, she probably smelled too. Every single piece of clothing in the pile was red; obviously Ozaian just had servants grab some decent things for her to wear straight out of her closet.

"Are you okay, Milady? You look pale," said the maid interrupting her thoughts once more.

"I'm fine, just thinking about things," Katara said looking up at the maid. The maid nodded, understanding, and made a motion to leave.

"Wait," Katara cried out, before the maid left the room. She turned around and looked at Katara slightly puzzled. "Why did you give me that key? How did you know I would need it?" she asked, though her mind was brimming with many other questions.

The maid closed the door to the room, before joining the future Fire Lady on the bed, sitting right next to her.

"Its quite a long story milady, are you sure you are up for it?"

"Yes, I'm sure I am...By the way please call me Katara, I'm not Fire Lady yet," she said simply, though she was thinking that now had a small chance of happening. She was only becoming Fire Lady because that was what came with marrying Zuko. That path that was ahead of her didn't have her and Zuko's marriage included, so far.

"So um...I'm sorry whats your name?" questioned Katara slightly embarrassed, by not knowing the maid's name.

"Its Elsa," she said with a small smile the brightened up her aged features. Katara guessed Elsa was around 50 or 60, with an aged wrinkle face, and silver hair pulled back into a neat bun. She could immediately see Elsa as one of those maids that had probably worked as a palace servant for a good number years, maybe most of her lifetime.

"So Elsa, how did you know that the key would help me?"

"Do you want the whole story to why this is occurring or do you want the most basic answer to that question?"

"I would understand it more if I was told the whole story, but if your not up for it that's okay," said Katara considering how much Elsa had to work since she was a servant, and an elderly one.

"Its almost time for my break anyway so I must as well start off with the beginning," said Elsa as she crossed her legs, situating herself in a comfortable position.

"First off, Ozaian is Zuko's twin brother. They were born on the same night a few hours apart. I remember that night. I had just started working at the palace, and my job was tending to Fire Lady Ursa during her pregnancy. When she went into labor Zuko was the first one born, and nobody expected there to be a second child born, nobody expected there to be twins," she paused, letting Katara take it in. Katara smiled inside when she thought of Zuko as a baby, it made her think of wanting to have children of her own one day, Zuko's children that is.

"Anyway, when Fire Lord Ozai reliazed that he had two male heirs to the throne, he knew it would be difficult when it came time to decide which one would inherit the throne in the end. Now Katara, in the past where two legitimate heirs were avaiable for the title as Fire Lord, it often resulted in civil war. The two brothers would have divided up the Fire Nation, and fought to the death. Winner would have the country at his command and title as Fire Lord. But Ozai was already fighting a war, as we all know, so he didn't want the war in the Earth Kingdom to slow down because his sons were having a dispute," she continued.

"So he decided for the sake of the war to get rid of one of the twins,"Katara cut in.

"Exactly! Before the birth of the new Prince was announced he had Ozaian sent to a orphanage, where he was raised. Zuko was kept because he was the first born and as tradition holds the crown is always passed down to the first born prince," said Elsa with a sigh.

"Poor Ursa she must have been heartbroken when one of her sons was sent away without her consent," said Katara, knowing full well of the connection between mothers and their children.

"Actually, after Ursa gave birth to both of the boys, she passed out from exhaustion. She was up all night giving birth. It wasn't until dawn when she could finally rest. While Ursa was asleep, Ozai had made the decision without her. He knew very well that she would protest against it. So by the time she was awake, Ozaian was already half-way to the orphanage. We were given strict instructions to tell her that Ozaian had died not long after birth, due to a simple birth defect, and not mention even a whisper of the truth," said Elsa sadly.

"That's horrible. Every thing I hear about Ozai just makes him more and more cruel," said Katara, feeling sorry for Ursa that had to endure Ozai's cruelty, as well as every one else that did too. "But why is Ozaian here now?" she continued.

"Isn't it obvious. He wants Zuko's throne, he's jealous of everything he has. Even you."

"I know that part already, but how did he get here if he was raised in an orphange," Katara asked sligtly annoyed.

"Ozai didn't fully cut off all connections to his son. He had the orphange director send him reports about how Ozaian was progressing. Now looking back on it I think he was planning something in case anything happened to Zuko. He didn't tell the orphange director that the boy was the son of the Fire Lord, he wanted the reports sent to be honest and he didn't want Ozaian to know his true identity," she paused to take a breath. Then continued, "From what I heard Ozaian grew up almost exactly like Zuko did, slightly struggled in his bending abilities, but eventually became great with proper instruction. Ozaian didn't find out who he was until Zuko was banished. Ozai expected Zuko to fail in his quest for the Avatar. From what I heard Ozai was in the midst of planning a way to get rid of Zuko, and replace him with Ozaian. It was then that Ozaian had learned of his true identity, I think Ozai had even let him in on the plan. But as we know Zuko did return to the Fire Nation eventually, and eventually left again. During that time, Ozaian's destiny was crushed, and renewed within a matter of months. After Zuko left Ozaian was admitted into the palace. Ozai expected Zuko to be captured and eventually executed."

Katara shuddered at the thought of Zuko dead, yet gestured for Elsa to continue. "With Zuko gone, Ozaian would take the place of Zuko, except that Ozaian would be the son Ozai wanted. Everything that Zuko wasn't, much like another Azula, except male. Now may I remind you, that this was one of Ozai's closely guarded secrets, everyone who worked in the palace was sworn to secrecy about the issue."

Katara nodded taking everything in. "So what happened when the war ended and Zuko became Fire Lord?"

"I'm not quite sure, he disappeared suddenly after his father was defeated. For awhile everyone thought he was dead," said Elsa watching her shoes, deciphering her next words. "He somehow found most of Ozai's men that served him loyally in the army, needed a job or just wanted to see that the Fire Nation won the war. We guess that he had spent the last few years building and preparing an army to take down Zuko."

"B-But why isn't anyone doing anything? Certainly someone is starting to become suspicious about what is going on?" said Katara flabbergasted.

Elsa put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You have, you were the 1st one out the entire palace staff to notice the difference between Ozaian and Zuko. I'm sorry to say this Katara but this is only the begining."

"Wait what happened to Zuko those months he was..replaced by Ozaian?" asked Katara as Elsa made another motion to leave.

"I'm not quite sure how that happened. All I know is that the prison you just came from was under control of the Fire Nation, and that if they saw their Fire Lord in there they would know that something was wrong. Ozaian had that key with him the moment he arrived. Knowing that Zuko never possesed such a key I could only assume that it was the key you would need."

Katara licked her lips taking it all in. She sighed and said, "Did you suffer from the war, Elsa?"

"Yes I did. I had five brothers when I was young. When they got old enough they all joined the army. Now I have no brothers," Elsa said sadly.

"Do you want to help me Elsa? Zuko and I have a plan that is still in the making. We need to know what Ozaian is planning before anything can happen. I was thinking of ways I could get information, but I know I won't be able do it alone. Will you help me?" she said, trying not to sound desperate.

"What do you need me to do?"Elsa said, happy to know there was a way she could help stop this from happening.

"I was thinking about eavesdropping. I would be alot less suspicious if you were doing it." said Katara, hope rising inside of her.

Elsa nodded, "I'll do my best...By the way I heard from the cook that Zuko is down in the brig on the bottom level of the ship. If you ever need to see him just take the stairs near the prison hold, they'll lead straight to the brig," said Elsa smiling.

Katara nodded her thanks before she left. She sighed knowing her Zuko wasn't far away, she already missed him, even though it had been an hour or so since she last saw him. She got up from the bed and took a shower in the bathroom that was connected to her room. It felt good to be clean again. After brushing out the nest that was her hair, she dressed in one of the dresses that Elsa brought her,and left her room in a dash. Heading down to the brig were Zuko was kept.

* * *

Well there you have it the 7th chapter. Sorry if this one took longer. Something was wrong with Word on my computer. For some reason I couldn't type anything up, so I had to wait for it to pass, or until someone fixed it. Also the reason why this chapter is so long is for obvious reasons. Katara had to find out the rest of the truth about the connection between the two, and the only one who knew the whole story was elsa, so I had to have elsa explain he whole thing to Katara. Now that I think about it, I probably could have done another flashback, but that would've been more complicated and maybe even longer. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm currently juggling two stories right now so I don't know when I'll have the next one up.

-See ya :)


	8. Old Enemies, New Alliances

**Hello all I'm back. And I'm so so sorry that it took me so long to update this story. So i'm going to give you a little treat. since i was on a two month long haitus, i'm going to give you a two chap. update instead of just one. plus i've written out some outlines for the next couple of chapters so if i keep at it i will be updateing frequently, like every day or so if that is satisfactory to you. well enough of me talking feel free to enjoy these upcoming chapters. ^_^ i love summer:)!!  
**

* * *

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 8**

**Old Enemies, and New Alliances  
**

He sat there in his cage for what seemed like hours, with absolutely nothing to do. He let out another loud sigh. Sometimes it was hard to believe his luck, and the things fate let him fall into. He was never born lucky, while every one else around him seemed to be. His sister was always lucky; everything she did was done perfectly and easily. He had to work to accomplish what he wanted to do, and strive for perfection. He worked hard to get where he was, now the cruel hands of fate and evil jealous brothers were ripping down everything he had built and made, piece by piece.

It was rather cold in the brig. his breath of fire was able to keep him warm, for now. He hoped that whatever it was they were up against would get him out the brig soon. Then again he hoped for a lot of things.

He jumped when he heard a door creak open. He could feel his heartbeat start to race when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He saw Katara step into the cargo hold, and anxiously look around for something. Assuming it was him, he scrambled to his feet, and said, "Katara!"

Her eyes met his and made her way over to him, while having to zig-zag through some wooden boxes of cargo and supplies. She got as close as she could to him, as he did her, the only thing preventing their embrace was the iron bars of Zuko's prison. After this was over she never wanted to feel the cold rough touch of iron again. It was the iron that had hidden Zuko's face in that tortuous mask, the handcuffs they forced her to wear weeks ago, and now the reason why he couldn't hold her like he wanted to. She gripped the bar with her hand, wishing it was never there, wishing this had never happened, or happening. Once that was tradition was now iron. Katara couldn't help but think that Ozaian shared similarities with iron. Cold, rough, and heartless, as well as not caring about what other people thought or felt.

"You okay?" she asked, blue meeting gold.

"Yea, I'm fine. I've had worse, " he said, his fingers tracing her jawline down her neck. She loved the way he gingerly touched her skin. Which is why she cringed whenever Ozaian tried to touch her, it only added to her hatred for Ozaian. She figured she was spoiled by Zuko's love and compassion for her. She would never want anyone else as much as she wanted Zuko.

"Is he treating you okay? If he thinks of trying anything I'll kill him, " he said protectively.

"I haven't seen him since I got on the ship."

Zuko nodded, then said, "How goes the plan? I know its early but did you get anything yet?"

"No I don't have any information...yet. But, do you know that maid Elsa?"

"Yeah, she's worked in the palace, since before I was born. I've known her for awhile."

"Well she's agreed to help me spy on Ozaian."

"Spy?"

"I mean eavesdropping on Ozaian. While he's having a meeting Elsa would serve them refreshments or something while listening on their conversation and report back to me or you, " she said, a slight tremor of hope in her voice.

"That should work for now, but be careful about everything you hear. Something tells me that Ozaian wouldn't even let a simple maid know what he was up too," he said taking her hand in his through the bars.

"But Elsa was the one that gave me the key to the mask, she obviously knew I would need it to help you," she said, squeezing the hand she held.

"That's a good point... but promise me that you'll be careful, no matter what you do," he said, his strong amber eyes filling with worry and love.

"Of course I will, " she said with reassurance.

He leaned his head through the bars, resting his forehead on hers. She reached up on her toes to kiss him. He was the one that usually bent down to kiss her, but the iron bars of the brig, prevented him, or else he would choke while trying to kiss her. At first it was a simple peck on the lips but eventually became deeper as moments passed. His movements were limited due to his prison, but he managed to wrap one arm around her small waist.

It seemed that only seconds passed when suddenly a floorboard creaked, causing a once small sound to echo loudly around the room. The couple broke their kiss, and stared out around the brig, it was empty, except for the cargo that sat cluttered around the floor.

"You should go, you better get back or else Ozaian might get suspicious," he said, trying to sound confident.

She sadly nodded, and with a final squeeze to his hand she said, " I'll try and come back tomorrow."

With that she left the brig, returning to her cabin, which to her was a prison. Anything without Zuko seemed that way. She hated leaving Zuko alone like that, she could only imagine the boredom he had to endure everyday within that place. She would try to visit Zuko at least once maybe twice a day, that way he would know that she was safe, and inform him of anything.

She stepped out onto the deck of the ship, deeply breathing in the salty scent of the sea that she loved. She approached the railing on the deck, gazing out onto the horizon, she thought, no hoped that whatever Ozaian was planning they would be able to stop it before it was too late. _3 people against an entire army of rouges... how on earth are we supposed to do this._

She couldn't help but notice that a small dingy that was tied to the boat. She eagerly searched for where the boat came from. She found another similar ship following up behind them. Someone was visiting Ozaian. What kind of visitors would Ozaian have on board? She didn't want to stay and find out, knowing that most of Ozaian's friends were Zuko and her's oldest enemies, not to mention most likely to be the most dangerous. She eagerly left the deck wanting to return to the safety, yet solitude of her cabin.

_

* * *

_After Elsa left Katara alone in her chamber, she continued on with the various chores that she had to preform around the ship. She volunteered to clean Ozaian's cabin hoping that would get her somewhere. For it was when she was cleaning Ozaian's room back at the palace that she found the sliver key that she gave Katara before she was taken.

She cleaned his cabin alone, pausing every now and then to sneak through the drawers and cubbies of the room. The only thing she found was the usual clothes, scrolls and paper work that only talked off finances and other boring things that considered to be worthless compared to what she was looking for.

She gathered her cleaning supplies and was about to leave when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she saw a small chest, sitting in the corner. Having always possessed natural curiosity, and had a mission that she wanted to fulfill she approached it and after making sure that the room was empty, opened it. The hinges squealing in protest. The chest contained maps with various markings on then, sheets of calculations, various letters from people she never heard of, and documents with official seals on them. The seals were not those of the four nations, they were different. There was also a small dagger most likely stored there in case he was in need of protection. And last but not least two golden keys. She found it quite odd how Ozaian always kept keys around his important stuff.

She soon heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She instantly closed the chest and acted like she was dusting it and the floor around it. Ozaian walked into the room paying her no mind. She wished she had more time to look at the papers, knowing that they held valuable information.

She heard Ozaian ruffling through papers on his desk. She breathed a small sigh of relief thankful that she wasn't being watched or noticed. Seeing that she was finished she gathered what she brought with her and left the room, feeling a slight sense of accomplishment. She knew where Ozaian kept his important papers, but the information that those papers possessed still remained a mystery. she tried to remember what she had seen by just glancing at them.

The maps with the markings on them. There were colored arrows and markings. Her father was a member of the military growing up and she remembered that whenever he planned out battle movements and techniques he would plan it out in a similar fashion to Ozaian's. Was that what Ozaian was planning, an attack on an innocent town, the death of more innocence. She didn't doubt it for another second.

Unfortunately she never noticed where the attack was going to be made. She suddenly felt a strong sense to go back tomorrow, she had to make sure it was at noon, when Ozaian was having his longer meetings. She made plans to snoop again, this time more in depth, going through and reading every pamphlet and scroll, absorbing every single piece of information that she could in whatever time lapse she would be given.

She wouldn't report back to Katara empty handed, she would wait until she had found out exactly what Ozaian was planning.

The world was still in a fragile state after a century of war, and it was still recovering. Even the smallest scrimmage or dispute could send the entire world into a spiraling crash. The fate of the world might as well have rested in the hands of 3 people.

* * *

After the maid left Ozaian looked over towards the chest that the maid had just been cleaning. He couldn't help but feel suspicious towards the elderly woman. He picked up the chest and placed it on his desk, opening it, retrieved a few documents, then proceeded to leave the room. Just before he opened the door and left, he turned around and walked back towards the chest.

He opened it once more, retrieved one of the keys from inside, and checked to make sure it fit the lock. Seeing that it didn't fit properly, he exchanged the key for the identical one in the chest. He closed the chest locking it securely, placed the key in his pocket, and left the room.

He couldn't take any chances he was too far into his plan to have to back down. A single slip-up could result in ultimate failure for him and his men. After all that they had been through and after how far they had come in their quest, his men would most likely turn on him and heavily blame him for their failure. Then he would truly lose everything, which he didn't want, he would never want to fall that far again. He could feel the stress and the mighty burden he carried weighing down on his shoulders.

He proceeded down the metal hallways of the ship, towards his office. He walked at a brisk pace, reprimanding himself for walking too slow. He entered his office to find several men in the room waiting for him. One was sitting at the table the others were standing behind the man's chair, his own personal guards. You could tell they favored the old ways, Ozai's ways, by the formality for their attire. Fashion changes as often as the wind changes, even in the military.

One man, a personal servant of Ozaian stood in the corner, waiting for whenever Ozaian would need him.

Ozaian approached the table, as the man stood to greet him. The man's face, once hidden by shadows, was now revealed by the light of a small lamp. His right eye was covered by a black eye patch, yet he was no pirate. Trails of many scars made their way out from underneath the black cloth, showing his eye was lost in a terrible fight. Many other scars decorated his deformed face. There was another scar down the left side of his face, going all the way to his ear that shown a piece of meat was removed when the injury was made. His nose was big and bulgy from being broken and re-broken countless times. His bottom lip was deformed a little too, it appeared to be either torn or burned off. Yet you could tell that he was once a handsome man, though through all the scars and deformation he was man slowly aging. His jet-black hair was graying with several white streaks throughout his rather large side-burns, and hair that was pulled into a top-knot.

"Its good to see you again Ozaian," said the man in a raspy voice.

"The pleasure is mine, apparently the years haven't been too kind to you," said Ozaian as they shook hands and took their seats across from each other at the table. Ozaian couldn't help but notice that he was missing his left hand, obviously it had been cut off by a quick clean blade.

"That and the punishments that the spirits reek on those that try to destroy them," said the deformed man as he held his hand-less wrist in his left hand, on top of the table.

"I see, but shall we proceed with business," he said arranging his papers on the table.

"Yes, of course. What is it that you have to offer me?"

"We are both after the same thing, we have separately been pursuing the same goal for a number of years. We both want that no good brother of mine off the throne, the avatar under the control of the Fire Nation, and last but not least the world being ours to control," said Ozaian pride in his voice, fingering the corner of a document.

"Let me guess. You want me to lend you my men, my soldiers, and I get a share of whatever it is that we gain," he said eyeing Ozai's son suspiciously.

"Actually I was thinking of something more along the lines of an alliance, your men stay your men, and my men stay my men. But if this alliance is made, and we our victorious then there will be rewards to reap, if one chooses to reap them," Ozaian said, his eyes carefully studying the old generals facial expressions.

"No doubt you would want the title of Fire Lord, but what would a mere general like me be able to reap?" said the general before coughing harshly into a handkerchief. "Obviously my time is dwindling, what..."

He was cut off when Ozaian said, "And no doubt you would want to achieve something that would engrave your name in the hall of history. I wouldn't worry about it, my father always spoke very highly of you, back in the days of your prime-time high and glory. If you prove yourself to be the same ruthless admiral that you were all those years ago, then...you might consider yourself the next commander in chief of the Fire Nation army."

He gave a small smirk at that, he could see in the young man's eyes the same dream that his father and grandfather had when they were alive. He slowly nodded his deformed head and said, "alright then, lets make history."

Ozaian passed him the document across the table. The elderly general read it carefully, then signed his name at the bottom. Officializing the alliance between the two largest rebellion groups against Fire Lord Zuko. It was the day that the Dragon Rouges and the Northern raiders had joined together in a common cause, unfortunately not a good cause, yet good and just in their eyes, since they weren't raised by the best of morals.

The old general stood up from the table shook hands with Ozaian, with the one good hand he had. But before he left he said, "I understand that you have Fire Lord Zuko, and his mistress in your custody. If you don't want any slip-ups then I highly suggest that you get rid of them. They pose a threat to our plan. Its understandable if you want to keep the girl, but your brother will soon run out of use to you, whatever it is you use him for."

"You are not the first person to suggest this, and it is being taken into consideration. But they are both under heavy surveillance, and if one shows a sign of acting out or causing a problem, then they immediately won't be a problem any more. My men have strict orders to do so if necessary," he said, with the all to familiar venom.

The elder general simply nodded and left.

Ozaian turned to his servant standing in the corner of the room. "What news do you have for me," he demanded.

The servant replied, "Lady Katara was seen down in the brig talking to your brother."

"Did she try and help him escape?"

"No sir."

"Did you hear what they were talking about?" he questioned once more his patience growing thin.

"No sir, sorry sir, I was out of earshot. I couldn't hear." The servant was quite young and was starting to shiver even though he tried to show how much of a man he was by not shivering and acting like a coward.

"Then next time you follow her make sure you are in earshot so you can hear her and stop whatever it is they are planning, you pitiful excuse for a spy," said Ozaian practically screaming at the young man.

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I..." he was cut off when Ozaian cut in and said in the same harsh tone, "Don't apologize, just do better next time or I'll have your neck."

The young man gulped and waited for Ozaian to dismiss him, but instead Ozaian gathered the papers on the table, which consisted of the signed document and a letter for Lucin, which in another words were executive orders for him to carry out. "Send these out to Lucin, tell him to ready the troops, the plan is going perfectly," said Ozaian handing his servant the papers. The young man took them and left the room in a hurry, eager to rid himself of Ozaian's presence.

After he left Ozaian poured himself a glass of Ember Whiskey, and drank it greedily, trying to calm himself. If a healer looked over him it would say that his anxiety levels were off the charts. Seeing that the liquor calmed himself greatly, he poured himself yet another glass. Letting his nerves go down like the smoothness of the alcohol pouring down his throat.

* * *

A/N: well there you have it the 8th chapter. I've been reading several fanfics lately and they use the term 'mistress' as in terms of a concubine. So i just wanted to say that katara is not zuko's slut but his fiance, obviously, if you had read this story from the beginning. I just like using the term mistress it sounds a lot more formal to me. If you want me to change to just fiance(every time I say that I feel like I'm saying Beyonce) or betrothed. just say so because i want no confusion to you readers. One more thing: Zuko knows about where Ozaian came from, after the fire nation lost the war he was presumed dead, and Zuko thought the same.

Also I have posted a poll on my profile page and i would like people to vote in it because it has been up for weeks and only on person has voted. This poll is going to help me when i write my next story, so if you want to read more Zutara fanfics please feel free to vote or at least check it out, I posted this poll because i want to know what other people want or like, plus i love hearing others opinions. Another cool feature about this poll is that you can vote for nine different options at once. So please check out my poll! it just might be worth it. ;)

Any way this will not be posted until the 9th chapter is posted with it. so if your reading this that means that you can go ahead and click then next chapter button below. Enjoy!


	9. Flashback Followed By 'This Just In'

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 9**

**Flashbacks followed by 'This Just In'**

She found it rather ironic that she had a mission to fulfill and accomplish yet there was absolutely nothing she could do without arousing suspicion. So most of the time she spent on the ship was spent with her in her cabin, on the bed, fully clothed, brain adrift and mind wandering in past memories. She didn't know why but she kept on flashing back to the night when had Zuko asked her to be his bride. She figured it was because it made her feel happy and warm inside, plus it was a time before the chaos and confusion set in.

She missed Zuko's love and the nights they spent together, she would give anything to have him with her right now. She was tired of being alone.

But, the chance of Ozaian easing up and letting her spend some private time with Zuko was impossible. Elsa had visited her a few times since their briefing, mostly to deliver meals and clothes, and every time she did Elsa had warned her to stay away from Ozaian, because you never know what a man would do when he is on the brink of losing it and his lust arises when a woman passes by. Elsa had also informed her that Ozaian had developed sort of a drinking habit. So for the sake of her womanhood and reputation, she stayed in her room only to leave to go visit Zuko in the brig, but every single time she was alone she felt scared and vulnerable.

Her fingers wandered to the necklace around her neck. It wasn't her mother's necklace but it gave her the same comfort that her mother's necklace did. She remembering the night it had been given to her, the night she became the next Fire Lady of the Fire Nation.

**Flashback**

It was a warm night in the Fire Nation, with a crisp cool breeze that would make anyone feel relaxed and welcomed. Welcoming was the theme that the palace decorators were trying to accomplish for the party that was held that night. It was the annual Peace Celebration Ball. People from all nations gathered for a day of festivities and a night of partying. Each nation, besides the air temples, took turns hosting the grand celebration.

It was the Fire Nation's turn for this year, and the young Fire Lord had been anticipating the day for several reasons. One. He would get a break from all his duties as Fire Lord. Two. He would finally be able to see Katara, the girl he had been courting for the past several years. The distances between both of their nations had made it difficult for them, but every single smile, hug, or kiss that passed between the two of them made the long journeys, absences, and rare meetings worth it. And finally the third and final reason was that he was going to ask her to marry him.

He was nervous yet anxious about it. What would he say to her when he saw her? When should he pop the question? During the festival? Or during the formal ball at the palace? He figured at the ball because it was more formal then the festival. Plus for some un-known reason she didn't show up at the festival.

He spent hours going over his strategy in his head. It was only that morning when he realized that he should plan out how he was going to do it, or where it should be, etc, etc.

When he finally saw her at the ball she looked as stunning as ever. Draped in a silken dark blue dress, that brought out the sapphire blue of her eyes. Her hair was done so the curls of her long brown hair were accented perfectly, and hung elegantly past her shoulders.

Some young men who had noticed her beauty, and who were unaware of her courtship with the Fire Lord took the time to flirt with her, and asked her to dance with them, not wanting to be rude she accepted some invitations. After the first five minutes of it she had grown tired of the unnecessary attention and wanted to spend time with Zuko, having missed him these past few weeks. Finally Zuko came to her rescue. Just when another man was about to ask her to dance with him Zuko cut in and asked if he would have the privilege. Katara eagerly accepted because the man who Zuko saved her from was nearly half her age.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Zuko lead her to the dance floor. "Thanks for saving me. I was wondering when you were going to spend some time with me," she said almost cheerfully with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Well I was hoping to see you at the festival, but you weren't there. Now why is that?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist and began the slow dance that the musicians played.

"The boat was late. By the time we arrived the festival was almost over. Why, did I miss anything?" she said looking deep into his eyes as he led her around the dance floor.

"Well actually it was rather boring, though they were giving out all kinds of free food, and I know that Sokka would have enjoyed that." She giggled knowing how true that was. "You're right he would've. Just don't tell him that he missed it, he'd get disappointed," said Katara as Zuko twirled her, then twirled her back towards him.

They seemed to be lost in their own world as they danced. No words needed to be spoken between the two to express the feelings they shared for one-another. It seemed almost magical, what they were feeling at that moment.

Somewhere in the middle of it all Zuko felt the engagement necklace that rested in his pocket grow heavy. It made him realize that he would have to pop the question soon, before more men took an interest in Katara and occupied her time for the rest of the night. As the song ended and they were pulled back into reality, Zuko quietly asked her if she would meet him out in the garden when the fireworks started.

She nodded eagerly, curious about what he was planning. She knew Zuko well enough to know when he was planning something, especially when he needed to ask something of someone. Not to mention that when the fireworks started everyone would be asked to head to the viewing platform in the front of the palace. If he wanted her to meet him in the garden, whatever he wanted to ask her he wanted to ask her when they were alone. She tried not to get her hopes up knowing that he could merely be asking her to accompany him on a political trip to the Earth Kingdom or one of the Water Tribes.

When they broke apart they preceded on with the night, dancing with family, friends, or even with complete strangers. Zuko took the opportunity to ask Hakoda for his daughter's hand in marriage. Hakoda agreed, having developed a healthy relationship with the young Fire Lord since the Boiling Rock, and was well aware of his daughter's feelings for him and the couple's courtship.

But the few moments that they had spent together dancing had left an invisible mark on one another. As if they had imprinted on one another or an unbreakable bond was formed between the young couple. Fate found it rather ironic at how this had occurred, because tonight was going to be the night when they became fully devoted to one-another in more ways then one.

Katara found herself giddy with excitement when the fireworks began. The crowd of ball-goers rushed to the grand front entrance to observe the colorful spectacle. While Katara had to somewhat fight the crowd in order to get to the hallway that led to the garden.

Once she was free from the rush of the crowd she paced herself as she walked down the hallway. She didn't want to seem too eager, knowing that she could be setting herself up for disappointment, nor matter how romantic or dreamy it seemed to hitch up your ball gown and run quickly in to the arms of the one you love. After the thought passed she wanted nothing more then Zuko's arms around her in a soothing and warm embrace.

When she finally arrived at the garden Zuko was waiting for her under the tree by the pond. He had a look of worry on his face as if he was nervous about something as he stared in the calm waters of the pond. She approached him still pacing herself, though she found her feet and heart wanting to move faster towards him.

"Hey," she said nervousness and anticipation pounding in her ears. He looked up at her from the pond, as if he was being broken out from his thoughts. He smiled when he saw her, but it did little to hide the nervousness that was etched across his handsome face.

A loud crackle was heard a distance away. They turned their heads toward the sky and saw sparkle flowers dance across the sky in a vivid explosion. As embers from one died away another one followed suite, except this time sporting different colors and usually the colors of the four nations. They sat down on the bench that wasn't far from the tree and watched the firework show echo across the night sky.

Katara rested her head on his shoulder as he pulled her close with his arm around her. She found herself in love with the way she could snuggle up against him, and the way he would pull her close to him.

While Katara was distracted with the fireworks, Zuko was fingering with the engagement necklace in his pocket, trying to muster the courage to ask her. Finally after what seemed like forever he took a deep breath and said, "Katara…"

He wasn't quite sure why he paused, but Katara looked up at him, and he could tell by the expression on her face that she had a hunch for what he was about to ask her. There was no backing down now. "Could you close your eyes for a few seconds?" he asked after what seemed like hours, but was merely a few seconds.

"Okay," she said questioningly, while fighting back the joy and excitement that was brimming in her mind. She closed her eyes placing a hand over her eyes letting him know that she wasn't peeking.

He swiftly and quickly undid the knot that held her mothers necklace in place and replaced it with his engagement necklace. A firecracker exploded in the background signifying the accomplishment of the first part of his proposal. The fireworks were slowing down, which could only mean that the finale was near. "Okay," he said, "Open your eyes."

She removed her hand and her eyes immediately fell on the new necklace around her neck, with the finely polished black stone and silky red ribbon. She was speechless and even though she saw it coming she was still as surprised as ever.

Zuko got down on one knee in front of her and said the four traditional words known as "will you marry me?" followed suite by some other sentimental words of love and endearment. Katara was so happy she felt that she would cry as the tears tugged at her eyes. She nodded her head before finally finding her voice and saying 'yes' almost a hundred times. But by that time Zuko had already scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around, and kissing her passionately on her lips, for he was just as happy as she was, seeing that they were beginning a whole new chapter of their lives together. In the background the finale was being set off, lighting the sky on fire.

After the fireworks most people left the palace and returned home, and those that were staying in the palace retired to their bedchambers for the night. As for the Fire Lord and future Fire Lady, they were not seen for the rest of the night. It wasn't until the next morning that they were seen again and officially announced their engagement which was meant with many congratulations.

It wasn't until a few days later that the rest of Katara's family left, and it was hard for Katara to say goodbye knowing that she would miss her family. But yet she was also happy, because this time she didn't have to say goodbye to Zuko, which she had to do in their past visits. It was literally a whole new adventure for her.

**End Flashback**

She felt a few tears brimming behind her eyes as the sweet memories flooded her mind, only to be washed out by a tidal wave of reality. She just wanted things to get back to normal, she didn't want another war, no one did. She grew up with the fear of the century-old war, and after it had ended it was a major relief for her and many. And like everyone else did, she wanted to live her life, and experience new things that one couldn't experience during times of war.

A few moments later she found herself tired of soaking in her own misery and decided to do something about it. She was not going to let a crazy jealous step-brother and a bunch of snooty rouges ruin her life.

She got up from her bed and proceeded over to the small desk in her cabin. She pulled out a few pieces of loose paper and a pen and began to write letters to Sokka and Aang warning them of what they should have known months ago. She just hoped that by the time the letters reached them it wasn't too late.

* * *

Elsa stifled a yawn as she made her way through the hallways of the ship. She couldn't sleep the other night, because she feared what she was going to discover in the chest. She prayed it was nothing that her old fragile state couldn't handle, having seen a lot in her years as a palace servant, having to hold a lot of secrets from past Fire Lords. She continuously wondered if she was still held to the secrets that Ozai had her keep. Ozai was now dead, should Zuko finally know what truly happened to his mother. But sometimes the truth was better left unsaid, fearing that Katara would suffer the same except from Ozaian, who was more like his father than most people realize because he shows mercy on some.

She continued her path down the hallway until she reached Ozaian's room. He was currently at a meeting with some people who held a somewhat important status; at least they thought they were important since they arrived on the ship by air balloon.

She entered the room, set down her bucket of cleaning supplies and laid some of them out, so if someone was coming she could pick something up and act like she was busy cleaning something.

She glanced in the corner of the room where she found the chest last, it was no longer there. She felt her stomach drop, thinking that she had missed her one and only chance. She let out a rather large sigh of relief as she saw it sitting on the desk. She rushed over it and attempted to open it, but found it locked. Her stomach dropped once more.

She analyzed the lock carefully, and realized that she would be able to pick it, having been an adventurous, wild child in her youth, and having her own good share of locks successfully picked. She pulled one of the many bobby pins out of her bun, inserted it into the lock, and tweaked it for a few moments, before the lock popped open easily.

She smiled triumphantly as she opened the small chest. She carefully lifted the pieces of paper and read each one of them thoroughly, making sure that they remained in the same order that she found them in. Her mind absorbed all the information that they contained. The more she read the more she realized that this was exactly what she needed. What they needed to stop this war from starting, to stop Ozaian in his tracks.

Ozaian's plan was brilliant yet it was also very cruel. It reminded her of when Ozai wanted to burn down the Earth Kingdom and start it anew. Except this time they wouldn't be attacking another nation. They would be attacking the Fire Nation itself.

There was a port town that sat on the northern shores of the Fire Nation mainland. It was a rather large port town, known for its large city and population. By far the biggest city in the Fire nation, second largest was the capital. It was also known for its cultural diversity, being the largest trading center in the country, many merchants came through or even lived there. Buying, selling, and exchanging goods from all around the world.

If Ozaian had his rouges successfully attack the city. Once people from all around the country heard the news they would all be screaming for war and vengeance, and if Ozaian had taken Zuko's place as Fire Lord with Katara by his side to prove his identity, he would more then happily oblige to the people's demands, and continue the war that had so recently ended.

She was still confused about how they were going to pull it off, without realizing that the rouges were merely renegade Fire Nation citizens. The question was soon answered when she found a receipt for the purchase of a couple thousand Earth Kingdom army uniforms. _He's going to blame it on the earth kingdom._

She continued reading, the gears in her mind turning rapidly as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

He had joined forces with several other rebellions, so he would have a large enough force to actually mount the attack. He had made contracts with major business leaders that would support him by supplying bombs, ships, and weaponry and he would repay them by supporting their companies through government laws, and giving them financial aid through hard times. Ozaian was literally twisting the government into a corporate and military loving machine, which would do nothing for the common people at all except extract money from their pockets.

Elsa wasn't a political genius nor was she properly educated in it, but she knew that what Ozaian was doing was dead wrong.

The last question that needed to be answered was when the attack would be made. After going through a couple more papers she found a letter from a man named Lucin. Saying that everything is ready, they are awaiting his orders, and that the attack will commence early morning the day Ozaian returns to the capital with Katara.

What the letter said frightened Elsa greatly. The ship was due to arrive in the capital within a week, maybe even less time then that if the weather was good. _Oh spirits help us._

She placed all the papers back into the chest as she found them, closed the chest and with the use of the same bobby pin locked it back up; making it look like no one had even touched it.

She hastily cleaned the room and left, walking briskly down the hall towards Katara's cabin. She opened the door to Katara's room without knocking and saw Katara jump in the seat at her desk. "Oh Elsa thank goodness it's you… you scared me there for a second," said Katara still slightly jumpy from the fright Elsa gave her.

Elsa glanced at Katara's desk and saw that she was writing something; by the formality of it she could tell that it was a letter. Elsa closed the door behind her and locked it with a simple flick of her fingers.

"Elsa what's wrong you look like you've seen a ghost?" asked Katara her composure regained and pen poised on the paper.

"I'm afraid that I've seen something much worse then a ghost Katara, or something that will happen that is unspeakably cruel," said Elsa as she sat down on the bed next to where Katara sat.

Katara was now scared about what Elsa had discovered. As Elsa prepared to share her news, Katara kept on worrying that it would be something that they couldn't stop. Then again she and the gang stopped Ozai from destroying the Earth kingdom when they were young, they could probably stop this as well if they managed to get the gang back together, or at least part of it.

Elsa took a deep breath and began, speaking in whisper so if someone put their ear to their door, they would just hear small murmurs. She shared what she had learned, intently watching Katara's face for a reaction.

Katara was speechless; she stared back at Elsa in shock, while listening to Ozaian's plans of domination.

After Elsa finished, a few moments of silence ensued. Katara looked down at the letter she was writing, she had unconsciously made an ink splotch on the side of her paper, away from the words inscribed on the page. She lifted her pen away and sat in down on the desk beside the paper. The ink splotch turned into a puddle as the source of the ink was removed; even though it had no reason too it spilled out onto the wooden desk staining it. Katara couldn't help but get an eerie feeling as she saw it turn red as it seeped into the grains of the. _Blood, a bad omen._ It looked a lot like spilled blood. Katara felt herself shiver even though it was rather warm in her cabin.

"Katara are you alright?" she heard Elsa ask. A nod was her only response.

Her hands shaking she picked up the pen and wrote, "come as quickly as you can, it will happen most likely before the week is out," at the bottom of each letter, for she had already finished writing both of them.

Elsa sat silently as she watched Katara roll them up, and seal them with a wax stamp. Then hand them over to Elsa and say, "could you send these out for me, please."

"What are these for?" she asked taking the scrolls from her dark hands.

"They're our way out of this mess." Elsa nodded and left the room, heading up to the helm to send them out by messenger hawk. Her whole journey she felt like she was being followed, but she would turn her head to see what was behind her and saw no one and nothing except the interior of the ship.

She arrived in the helm and sent off the letters, making sure they were secure on the hawk's back, before they took off. _Spirits let them fly fast.

* * *

_

A small man hid amongst the shadows of the helm, watching the old maid intently as she sent off the hawks. He had seen her carry the messages from the Fire Mistress's room, and had a vague idea of what the letters contained. Considering her and her fiancé's situation they would most likely be letters asking for help and by seeing the distressed yet hopeful look on the old woman's face he knew he was correct. Following his master's orders he left the helm to report back and informs him of Lady Katara's treachery.

Before he snuck out of the helm he thought about what Ozaian would say if he hadn't done anything about it. He feared his master greatly and didn't want to experience his wrath, again. His family's temper is after all said to be legendary. So instead he waited until the old maid left the helm.

He snatched a feather from the floor that was left behind by one of the hawks that was recently sent. Cautiously he opened up a cage that held a vulture that was used for retrieving and intercepting messages that hawks carried. He tossed the feather toward the vulture that caught it in its razor sharp beak. The vulture took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the feather. Then swiftly spit it out.

The man held out his arm that the vulture hopped onto, led it too the window and released it into the open sky, in hot pursuit of the hawk.

Hopefully for this deed his master would be pleased.

* * *

A/N: well there you have it chp 9. this chapter was alot of fun for me to write because i like that political corruption theme and i like mushy gushy zutaraness. So i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and i will try to get chp 10 up soon. like within the week or so, because i have written out the outlines for the next couple of chapters i just have to type them and put in some dialogue. This is also my longest chapter yet (i think, correct me if I am wrong), plus the story is heating up so you can expect long chapters from now on. unless i get lazy and poop out on the chapter's material content.

If you like the way Zuko proposed i might add something similar to that to my priceless moments story, which i am still working on. Let me know. :)

**Advertisement:**Do you have a movie that will make a great zutara story? Do you enjoy reading zutara fanfics and crossovers? If you do then visit my profile page. there is a poll there where you can vote up to nine times for the movie that will make a great zutara story in your eyes. The movies with the most votes get written and published here on fanfiction, but this will not happen until at least 50-100 people have voted. Even if you don't like crossovers it still wouldn't hurt to vote for your favorite movie, or at least look at the list. So please check it out, it wouldn't hurt to try. ;)

-See ya :)


	10. The Drunken Snake

**PLEASE READ ME FIRST!!!!!!!**

Before you begin to read this chapter, I just want to warn you that there is some content that could be a little inappropriate. So after you read i would really like to hear your opinion about whether I should change the rating or not. Or if its fine the way it is. Any feedback is welcome.

~Enjoy!:)

**

* * *

Force of Iron**

**Chapter 10**

**The Drunken Snake**

The Hawks flapped their wings furiously as they flew through the sky. The wind was against them, making them loose most of their speed, and their scent easy to follow for predator birds that were sent to track them down.

As the two hawks passed through a giant white cloud, one of them broke off and began to fly in a different direction, sensing where it needed to go in order to reach its destination.

The other hawk continued on its course, flying straight through the sky, the wind still against its face. Hours passed and the hawk was beginning to tire out from the hard and long flying. So, unaware of the importance of the message, it slowed down.

Not so far away the vulture was waiting for its chance to strike. It had been in pursuit of the bird for hours, having completely forgot about the other bird that carried the same message. Seeing that the hawk had slowed down it sped up, climbing higher and higher into the sky until it was directly over the hawk. Then it dove toward the hawk at a great speed, bearing down on the poor bird's back, digging its claws into its neck, letting blood spill onto its feathers.

The hawk realized that it could carry on life no more and began to fall through the sky as its life slipped away. The Vulture meanwhile dove after the hawk as it fell, realizing that it still needed to retrieve the letter it carried. The predator bird managed to retrieve the letter before it was lost to the ocean below. With the message safely in its beak, it began to make its way back to its home. It flew with the wind at its back letting it fly at a great speed.

The poor hawk was lost to the ocean below, having paid the price for a crime it didn't commit, while failing the task it had been given, yet not all hope was completely lost. Meanwhile the other hawk had arrived at its destination, safe and sound.

* * *

Katara wondered why it was taking them so long to get back to the capital, yet she was thankful for the delay, knowing what awaited the people of the Fire Nation upon their return. She figured Ozaian was still trying to prepare things for the attack. It was the only reason for the detour she could think of.

She lay on the bed in her room; acting as if she was taking a nap by the way she was lying down on top of the covers fully clothed. She occupied her time with listening to the hum of the ship as it chugged across the open waters, the gentle tapping of the rain outside, and the echo of the thunder across the dark sky.

Yes they were sailing through a storm. But the Captain, after a rather harsh yet shushed lecture from Ozaian, he had announced that it was a gentle storm and safe to sail through. Katara was going to need more convincing, due to the fact that the storm had somewhat intensified since then, which was hours ago.

She breathed another sigh out of boredom. It wasn't long past noon and Katara had already checked up on Zuko, talked to Elsa, and even aimlessly wandered the ship for a time. Until she saw a rogue who was giving her eyes, then she returned to the safety of her cabin, waiting for something to happen.

When she visited Zuko that morning she couldn't help but notice how pale he looked. He had told her not to worry, saying that it was because he hadn't seen the sun in awhile, and that he was fine. But she found herself worrying about it anyway, thinking that the last thing they needed right now was someone on their side to get sick, knowing what could happen any day at any moment.

* * *

Ozaian was thankful that he was finally alone. He had just finished yet another meeting, with someone who held some sort of importance in the world's political sphere. It was his third meeting that day, and thankfully his last. But then again he had mountains of paperwork to read, sign or disapprove. And that was merely just his job as Fire Lord, not to mention he still had to take care of his invasion plans, which was another five more hours of work.

The more he thought about it the more the stress seemed to double. He reached into the bottom draw of his desk and pulled out his favorite brand of whiskey, poured himself a large glass and began to drink. Before he knew it he had finished eight or nine glasses. He had lost count after the first four.

As he finished yet another glass a servant of his barged into his office, but he barely noticed, his head felt like it was in a cloud.

"Sir!" the short man said. Ozaian finally looked up at him, acting as if it he had better things to do, or as if he didn't know what he was doing. It was hard to tell.

"I have news for you that will concern you," the little man said, just realizing that Ozaian was dead drunk.

"Then get on with it," he slurred, while trying to shout.

"Miss. Katara sent out a letter, requesting help from her brother in the South Pole. I sent out a vulture and it was successfully intercepted," the servant reported while handing a scroll to Ozaian. Who snatched it from his hand and read it in a daze.

Upon seeing the words scratched onto the page, the drunken false King suddenly became outrageously and unpredictably angry.

"Was this the only one?" he demanded.

Trembling, the spy replied, "Yes my Lord that was the one that the vulture retrieved."

Then not knowing entirely exactly what he was doing he crumpled the letter in his hand while burning the edges of the paper, and stormed out of his office, unconsciously knocking the servant to the floor, Straight towards the room of his brother's fiancé.

* * *

Katara's expectations of what would happen in the next five minutes changed immediately when Ozaian, drunk with bloodshot eyes, stormed into her room, demanding to know what the meanings of the letter was, as he threw it at her feet.

Katara was sitting on the edge of her bed, having shot up instantly when he slammed the door open to her room. She felt her stomach drop as she saw the crumbled and burned letter on the floor; she could only assume the worst from the shocking evidence. She also had reason to fear when she saw how bloodshot his eyes were, she knew defending herself with words was useless. She wrote the letter herself and signed it; anyone could point out the handwriting of a person from the water tribe.

"What exactly were you planning?" he slurred angrily as he began to stagger towards her.

She found herself scarred stiff, who knew what he could do now that he was drunk and had little control over himself. It was then that she realized that she was sitting on the edge of her bed, and Ozaian was slowly staggering toward her in his drunken state. So, hoping that he hadn't already gotten any sort of idea, she stood up and began to slowly back away from the bed. The whole time he was saying something that was un-understandable, but she could tell from the tone that he was pissed off.

She continued to back away from him, trying to lead him in a sort of circle around the room, hoping that he would be fooled, and she could make her escape.

But the cabin was small and before she knew it he had her cornered. But that didn't stop him from getting any closer to her, still muttering things that no one could understand. She felt herself shudder as he became less then a foot away from her, it was then that she noticed the look in his bloodshot amber eyes, the look of lust and longing. It made her shudder even more.

"In the Fire Nation, treason is punishable by death, but…maybe…this time I'll make an exception," Katara was able to make out from his slurred speech. He thought he was the Fire Lord, and in a way she had betrayed him. She desperately looked for a way to escape, not wanting to find out what would come next. She heard thunder roar outside as the storm intensified. It was then that she noticed the window to her room was open, and it was pouring rain outside. Rain meant water. Water meant defense, water meant freedom.

In a desperate attempt she pulled the water from outside, as much as she could, and as fast as she could through the tiny opening in the window.

Ozaian had obviously saw this by the way she was moving her arms and wrists and before she could unleash her force of water upon him he had pinned her to the wall. She screamed from the sudden push, hoping someone would be able to hear her. The water now lay useless splattered across her bed and the floor. He clenched her wrists tightly and held them by her shoulders, making her defenseless, as he attacked her neck with his lips and teeth.

She struggled all she could, but he was for more stronger then her. Her struggles and pleas were rendered useless, but that didn't stop her. She swore that she would never let Ozaian touch her, and she would do whatever it took to make sure that it was kept.

He continued to attack her neck by sucking on her dark skin until a sore and tender hickey appeared, and even nip at the skin with his teeth, making her flinch in pain. "Please stop, please," he heard her beg. Yet he ignored it as he made his way up to her chin and jawbone and began the same process that he had begun with her neck.

From the movement he felt in her jaw he could tell that she was going to scream. Knowing maids and other servants were constantly roaming the halls of the ship, he jammed his tongue down her throat, encasing her lips in his, muting whatever noise she was going to make.

Katara felt like she was going to gag, and not just from the taste of alcohol in his mouth. But, for a second she felt like that she couldn't breathe with his tongue almost down her throat. She tried to push him away and get his mouth off hers, but instead he just pushed her head against the wall, with a force great enough to make her head ring. For a moment she lost focus and began to kiss him back, it was then that she did gag, when she realized what she was doing.

He continued to grope her for the next few minutes, while still holding her immobile and useless. The only thing Katara could do was pray hoping this nightmare would end soon, and choke back tears, which also failed because a few tears managed to escape her sapphire eyes, and slide down her cheeks.

She had nearly given in to him when another opportunity for escape arose for her.

Ozaian, drunk and mind in a cloud, was growing tired of just kissing the woman that was already sworn to be his brother's. Having little inclination of how she felt or wanted, he wanted to move forward.

Seeing that his hands were occupied with restraining hers, he inserted a knee in between her legs, making the dress she wore constrict around her lower body, trying to pry her legs apart so he could have his way with her, even though both of then were fully clothed.

Katara surprised herself by actually letting him; then again it wasn't that great of a threat seeing that they were both fully dressed. As he spread her legs apart he pushed himself closer and closer against the small shaking form of the water bender, sandwiching her between the wall and him.

Katara squeaked her eyes open, just realizing that she was squeezing her eyes shut the whole time. She figured it was a way of hoping that she would wake up from the nightmare.

Her eyes wandered to his face. He was now nibbling and sucking on the left side of her face now, having started with the right. She could see the scar on the side of his face very plainly. At first glance she thought it looked exactly like Zuko's, having seen it up close herself, but now with him being this close to her, she could see the differences between his and Zuko's very plainly. Beside the white streak that Ozaian gave Zuko during their first encounter, Ozaian's scar was thinner, you could still see part of his eyebrow, and it only covered part of his ear. It wasn't crippled and entirely burnt; some part of it still remained to be fresh, healthy skin.

Her eyes then wandered down to actually see what his legs were doing with hers. He was straddling one of her legs, his legs wide open.

It was then that she saw her opportunity. So using all the strength she could muster she kneed him hard in the groin, with the leg he was straddling.

Instantly she felt his grip on her wrists loosen. Freeing her hands she summoned the water that was splattered around the room, and let it fall full force onto him. Sending him flying to the other side of the room.

It was then that she made a mad dash for the door, having no idea what was going to happen next. The last thing she saw before fleeing the room was Ozaian lying on the floor moaning in pain. She couldn't help but smirk; he deserved every single bit of it.

She dashed out the door and was going to continue her mad dash down the hallway, when suddenly she felt the big bulky arms of one of his rogues grab her, pulling her off her feet. It was obvious that Ozaian didn't want her to escape this.

She struggled, kicked, and cursed at the rogue that held her, as he half drug her, half carried her back to the cabin that she just escaped from.

For a while her focus was trying to free herself from the rogue, but she _literally_ snapped out of it, when she felt a strong hand slap her across the cheek. She looked up and saw Ozaian, bloodshot eyes now holding nothing but anger and vengeance.

"I think its time we paid your beloved Zuko a visit," he slurred venomously, making him sound like an actual snake, that could somehow talk.

Katara didn't know what he meant, or what he would do. All she could do was be afraid and pray for a miracle as Ozaian grabbed her by her upper arm and forcefully dragged her down the hall toward the brig. Could it get any worse then it was?

* * *

A/N: There you have it chp. 10. I can't believe this my tenth chappie ^_^. But apparently with the way this story is going its going to be quite a few more chapters, i'm still unsure, but it is in progress.

What do you think Ozaian is going to do to Zuko? Can it really get any worse? I mean look at what he almost did to Katara. UGH! that was hard for me to write. I felt that it was to show part of his character. Cause it seems that when your drunk, that crazy little inner you comes out it seems. Your completely honest with everything and you have very little control.( Reminder that this is purely based from what I've seen and heard on TV. I have never been drunk, or known anybody that has been. But I have seen distant strangers from afar that are drunk, but that is it.) So it was supposed to show what Ozaian really feels towards Katara. Feels as in doesn't respect and has a lust for. Plus it adds to the drama of it all.

I also put that scar difference thing in because I felt that Zuko and Ozaian needed to have a little more differences when it came to their scars.

I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. I know I said every week or so, but these chapters take awhile to write, longer then i assumed. So I'm very sorry.

I would also love to hear what you think will happen next, since I left it at a somewhat evil cliffhanger.

-See ya!:)


	11. Trouble on the Seas

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 11**

**Trouble on the Seas**

Zuko coughed harshly feeling his body shake in protest. He had been sick for awhile, but the symptoms where just starting to come on strong. If you looked at the conditions surrounding him it made perfect sense to why he had become so sick so quickly. He was trapped in the brig all day and night, which was always cold, especially at night, when the temperature seemed to drop below freezing. Not to mention that he was a fire bender and used to warm and humid climates, nothing cold. Ozaian had obviously planned it just to make him suffer more then he already had.

The temperature was merely one factor to his illness. He was given little food and water, just enough to barely get by. His ratty clothes did little to help the temperature of the brig as well. Then again, it was made to handle and house cargo, not humans, that was what the prison hold was for. Yet as the days passed he could feel himself growing weaker and weaker. Which was not what he needed, he needed to be strong in case anything happened. In case Katara needed him and he needed to escape and save her.

He didn't want to bother Katara with his illness, knowing that it was a slight fever or cold. He didn't want her to worry about him any more, plus he didn't want her risking anything to scavenge or steal food for him. They were in enough danger as it was. They didn't want Ozaian to do anything that was unexpected, who knows what could happen.

Zuko suddenly found himself being jerked out of his thoughts when he heard voices from the top of the stairs to the brig. He couldn't tell what they were saying. Just that one voice was furious and the other was scared straight. He could identify the scared voice as a women's.

_Katara!_

It was then that he began to worry. But he reminded himself that it could be nothing. He couldn't identify the angry voice, it sounded like it belonged to that of a man but it was hard to tell because it sounded so weird and slurred.

His thoughts on the hidden quarrel instantly changed as he heard a scream as someone was thrown or had fallen down the steps. He instantly scrambled to his feet, craning his neck through the bars to see who it was.

He saw his beloved Katara lying at the foot of the stairs groaning in pain as she attempted to stand. But still remained lying on the floor on her stomach, she had managed to prop her upper body up on her left elbow, but that was as far as she had gotten. Then she lifted her head and her eyes met Zuko's, who was staring back at her in shock and worry.

Her long brown hair that she wore loosely, was now somewhat of a mangled mess, compared to the perfect waves and curls she always had it in. There was a rather large collection of hickeys and bite marks all around her neck, and parts of her cheeks and chin. Part of her dress was torn as well. He could feel the anger building up inside of him at the thought of what Ozaian could have done to her, but yet a pang of guilt attacked him in the stomach knowing that he wasn't able to protect her when she needed him to. He wasn't able to do anything then and he still wasn't able to do anything now. He cursed the brig holding him under his breath.

Zuko wished he could help her as she lay on the floor, eyes full of sadness and fear. It was then that Ozaian appeared from the stairwell, standing over Katara who quivered in fear as he approached. Zuko couldn't help but notice how he seemed to sway as he walked. _Was he drunk?_

Ozaian roughly grabbed Katara's right arm and pulled her to her feet, ignoring her screams and yelps of pain. It then became obvious that she had broken her right arm from her fall down the stairs.

Upon seeing and hearing Katara scream, Zuko out of pure rage for kicked the bars of the brig as hard as he could, making them shake. "Get your filthy hands off of her," he screamed at Ozaian with tremendous rage.

At those words Ozaian looked over at Zuko, and as if he had just remembered why he had come down here in the first places he immediately staggered at a fast pace over to Zuko's cell, pulling Katara behind him, flanked by two of his guards.

As they neared his cage he fingered a knife that he kept in the side of his belt, while roughly pulled Katara close to him so he could whisper in her ear venomously, "You should try and enjoy this, my sweet." He paused they where merely a few feet away from Zuko.

Katara flinched as she smelled the alcohol on his breath once more, except this time it was condensing into a warm mist that fell onto her ear and the upper part of her cheek. She tried to pull away but he held her firmly, as he continued, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this, a chance to actually give him what he deserves."

Upon Zuko seeing Ozaian's bloodshot eyes it immediately confirmed his assumptions that Ozaian was in fact hard core drunk. And it only made his fears of what he could have done to Katara in the past few hours go from extremely concerned to mortified.

Katara then found herself pushed roughly into the stiff arms of the guards, who held her tightly, so she couldn't escape, yet watch whatever was about to happen. She struggled as she had been doing a lot of recently she was sick of being pushed around all the time. She was sick of waiting for someone to rescue her. She was sick of Ozaian and the things he had done, or will do. She wanted her peaceful and content life with Zuko back.

She struggled until the burly rogue/guard holding her put an arm around her neck. Ceasing her struggling due to the pressure exerted on her throat, threatening to strangle her.

While Katara was having her dispute with the rogue, Ozaian was just beginning to make his assault on Zuko. In his drunken and clouded mind he would finally have vengeance.

He pulled the knife out of his belt, blade shinning in the dim light of the room, and kicked Zuko's cell door with a quick and forceful kick, letting it swing wide open on its hinges.

Zuko thought for a second on why he didn't attempt that before. But the thought ended abruptly when Ozaian delivered a swift punch of the fist to Zuko's head, sending him to the opposite ending of his cell, making his head bang against the unmoving iron bars. He groaned out of pain and dizziness as he sunk to the floor. _For being drunk he could deliver a hell of a punch._

Katara watched the whole thing all the while shaking and digging her nails into the thick burly arm of the rogue that held her immobile, trying to make him loosen his grip on her. But the effort was futile; she only felt the man's grip tighten around her neck, making her gag._ Zuko please fight back. You've kicked other people's asses before, you can surly kicked his._

Zuko felt as if his head wound that Katara had healed days earlier had re-opened, but he somewhat doubted that, knowing Katara's healing abilities left nothing less then perfection.

He was jarred from his thoughts again as Ozaian kicked him hard in the stomach, making him feel like he was about to cough up his stomach's little contents.

It was then that he heard Katara scream. He looked up from his hunched position on the floor and saw Katara screaming and begging Ozaian to stop, while trapped in the arms of his body-builder guards. Her right arm looked broken, since it was slightly twisted at an unnatural angle as she cradled it in her left arm. His eyes wandered to her damaged face with hickeys and bite marks scattered everywhere, then her sad and worrisome sapphire eyes.

Suddenly he became very angry. Not at Katara who was nothing more then a victim, and the women he loved more then anything. But at Ozaian, it was he that dragged her into all of this, something that wasn't even her battle. It was him that hurt her in ways that killed him to even think about, and it was him that was hurting her still.

Then it happened. He suddenly became aware of the ship rocking back and forth, the blood that began to pound in his ears as his heart rate quickened at a rapid rate. He knew what he had to do, what he must do.

He saw Ozaian's boot come flying at him out of the corner of his eye, ready to deliver another swift kick to his stomach or chest. He then took action. He jumped out of the way of his boot, landing on his feet. After he had regained his composure, he let a wave of fire burst forth from his hands towards Ozaian's direction. It felt good to fire bend again he couldn't recall the last time he had done so. He loved the thrill it gave him as the embers pulsed through his veins.

Ozaian was half aware of the fire heading towards him, at first. But once he realized the rush of flames and their intended direction, he took action himself and clumsily harnessed his own flame, blocking Zuko's, and letting both of the flames die out.

Then there was silence as the two brothers stood opposite one another at either ends of the cell. One strong yet drunk the other sober yet weak from his sickness and weeks of imprisonment. They just stared looking at each other dead in the eye as Katara watched from the sidelines, stuck in the arms of evil rouges.

After a while Katara felt like it was nothing more then a staring contest, since nothing had happened in what felt like almost five minutes.

Out of nowhere Ozaian seemed to let out a snarl of pure hatred towards his twin. Zuko stared back at him, his face reading a similar expression. For a moment Katara couldn't tell the two apart.

"I'm surprised I actually kept you alive this long, cause all my life, ever since that day I found out who I was by birthright. I wanted you dead and cold, for taking that away from me," Ozaian snarled at Zuko angrily, all the while still slurring some of his words. "And I still want you dead," he said slowly before charging at Zuko full speed, knife in hand ready to attack, while screaming some sort of drunken battle cry.

Zuko's eyes widened as Ozaian neared him. Fully aware of his brother's intentions he cleverly jumped out of the way at the last minute, letting Ozaian run head on into the bars of the brig, breaking his nose on the iron.

He groaned in pain as he turned away from the bars, blood gushing out of his now obscure nose. It was then that Zuko spoke. "I didn't take any of that away from you. It was Ozai who did," said Zuko defiantly, causing Ozaian to look up at him from his broken nose that he held in his hand.

"It was Ozai that refused to have two princes in the palace at the same time. It was Ozai that sent you away to the orphanage. It was Ozai that stripped you of your title when I returned to the Fire Nation after the Earth Kingdom fell. If he really wanted you as his heir he would have killed me and saved you the trouble. Believe me I would have let you have the throne at the time, if I had known about the whole thing."

It was true that at that point in his life the only thing he wanted was to find his mother, reconcile with his uncle, help Aang and end the war. But now the throne was his and it was his job as well as the avatar's to keep the peace. If he simply let Ozaian have the throne he would destroy the months he spent working out peace treaties with the other nations, and convincing his nation that war was pointless. Not to mention that if he let Ozaian have the throne he would be breaking the vow he made at his coronation and to the world. As long as he lived he would never let that happen.

Zuko suddenly felt Ozaian's hands around his throat, strangling him, as he was pushed against the bars. He gasped for air, as Ozaian spoke, "Don't even think of insulting Father that way, everything is your fault and it always will be as long as you live," he said through clenched teeth as he tightened his hold on Zuko's throat.

Zuko cloud feel his face turning red as his need for oxygen increased. He could hear the voice of his Katara screaming at Ozaian to stop. But Ozaian refused, his anger and hatred was pushing him toward vengeance and murder.

Zuko wasn't sure how but he managed to kick Ozaian away from him. Giving him a chance to breath and take in some precious oxygen. Looking up he saw Ozaian on the ground, rubbing his head as he tried to stand. It was then that he saw his chance. Seeing that his cell door was open he dashed toward it. But he had only made it a few feet out of the cell and was in the midst of rushing to get Katara, when he felt something hard hit him in the back of the head.

"Zuko!" Katara screamed as he fell to the floor at her feet. He was still conscience, but the blow to his head left stars dance across his vision for a few moments. He was in the midst of standing, pain shooting through his senses, when the guard that had struck him grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulled him to his feet and roughly pushed him back into the cell that he had so recently escaped from.

Ironically he found himself face down on the floor again, he hated being manhandled. But in situations like these there was nothing he could do about it.

He felt hands grab his hair, and pull him to his knees. His head was moved back so his throat was exposed, then he felt a cold steel blade pressed threateningly against his throat.

Everything seemed to be a blur. He could hear his Katara screaming in the background, begging Ozaian to stop, as he felt his fate slip away. Ignoring Katara's pleas Ozaian pressed harder against his throat, causing several droplets of blood to run down the pale skin. He could feel his breath growing short, as the blade was so close to ending his life.

Then suddenly a giant crash was heard, as it sent the ship jarring to its side, causing everyone to loose their footing, and fall to the ground. Cargo was spilled out of its boxes and some rolled freely as the ship set its self right again.

Katara groaned in pain, knowing that she had just injured her broken arm more. She somehow was freed from the steadfast arms of the rouge that held her, and she had to admit she was more then thankful for whatever it was that caused the lurch of the ship to happen.

Then suddenly she remembered Zuko. The image of Ozaian about to slit his throat haunted her mind. She staggered to her feet and looked in the last place she saw them. Zuko sat against the bars rubbing the back of his head. He was alright.

Ozaian's guards were shuffling around what was Ozaian, trying to lift him up. He yelled in pain as he cursed at them for not doing it right. Then she saw blood spilled all across his chest and the floor around him, and the knife he had threatened Zuko with stuck deep in his chest, just above his heart.

Somehow the guards managed to get him up out of the cargo hold, leaving just Zuko and Katara alone. They had left his cell door open, and they both were thinking the same thing. Freedom. Escape.

Katara rushed to Zuko's side, and before Zuko knew it she had already had healed the cut on his throat. Nothing was there but the plain white skin of his throat.

"Are you okay?" he asked rubbing at one of the hickeys on her mocha skin.

"I'm fine," she replied cradling her broken arm.

He sat up and asked, "He didn't…"

She shook her head, and he involuntary let out a sigh of relief. He would kill himself if he had known that she had been raped, and he wasn't able to do anything about it. As if out of nowhere he coughed harshly. Katara, concerned and still shaken from previous events felt his forehead. It was warmer then usual. Her suspicions of him being sick, where then confirmed. "Zuko you're burning up."

"Its nothing Katara I'll be fine. It's colder done here and I'm just trying to keep myself warm," he said rather smoothly, even though Katara knew he was lying.

He took her hand of the arm that wasn't broken and helped her up. "We need to get out of here, this isn't working."

They were making their way towards the exit when Katara said, "We know what he's doing now, and we can get out of here and stop it."

Zuko suddenly stopped in his tracks. "How are we supposed to get out of here and stop him before he reaches the capital? How are we supposed to leave if there is nothing but water for miles? Plus your arm is broken and one can only bend for so long," he said in a rather depressing tone. How were they supposed to stop the attack in time? Could they even stop the attack at all? At the moment both were very low on hope, especially after the previous events.

Katara could feel tears prick her eyes. So far today she had nearly been raped and had almost watched her fiancé murdered. Now the realization of how little hope was left made her almost fall off the edge.

She embraced Zuko tightly ignoring the pain of her arm as it screamed in protest. He comforted her with a gentle squeeze, minding her arm.

Fear gripped both of them as footsteps were heard hurrying down the stairs. They were relieved when they saw that it was Elsa. Her aged face looked panic-stricken, though she seemed a little at peace once she saw them both in an embrace. "Oh Katara, thank goodness, I was worried sick. I came by the room to check up on you and I saw the mess and… and…" she said through large pants, after talking at an abnormal speed, and having searched the ship frantically trying to find out what had happened.

"Its okay Elsa I'm fine. I can assure you that nothing happen. He tried but his impairment caused him to fail," said Katara trying to calm Elsa, though refusing to let go of Zuko. Seeing Elsa, Zuko felt a slight relief knowing that Katara was being looked after.

"Okay…that's good to know," she said still trying to regain her breath. "But Ozaian requests your healing abilities immediately," she continued.

"Can't he just use the ship's healers? I'm sure they would be more then happy to take care of him," Katara snapped angrily, refusing to heal let alone help the evil man.

"Ozaian is being taken care of by them. But there are more."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked confused.

"The ship was struck by lightening a few moments ago. Some crew members were injured from it. It's really them that need you," Elsa informed.

"Oh…I can do that," Katara said somewhat sorrowfully, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked up at Zuko who still held her. "You go and heal them, they need you. We'll find a way out of this another time," said Zuko trying to convince her that they should continue what they were doing no matter how dangerous it was.

"But when are we going to get another chance. I know that there have been better escapes then this in the past, but what if this is our only opportunity?" Katara said fear in her voice.

"We'll get another chance, it will come," said Zuko trying to reassure her, even though he wasn't that sure himself. Yet Katara still seemed reluctant to leave him alone in the brig once more. "I'll be fine," He reassured her again.

Katara just stared at the dark circles that were forming under his eyes. He was sick, he needed medicine. It was obvious to her no matter how he hid it. He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. He missed kissing her whenever he wanted to.

Before the kiss reached the next level he broke it, and said, "Go! Before rogues start to show up." She had to leave, she would stay forever if she could. But if rogues started to show up and she was still here and he was out of his imprisonment. Katara would be charged for treason, because they would think she had let him out, and nothing but bad news would come out of that. Ozaian would most likely have them killed or have them suffer a fate worse then death.

Katara left with Elsa. Zuko watched them walk up the steps together only to see Katara glance back at him a few times, before they disappeared at the top of the stairwell. Zuko just stood in the cargo hold. Not wanting to go back into his cage, yet knowing that he couldn't be seen out of it or anywhere else but the cargo hold. For the second time in his life he wasn't quite sure what to do.

* * *

A/N:Sorry this took so long to get posted. When i wrote the outline it didn't seem that long of a chapter. But once i put in all the details, dialogue and more thought. It had a major growth spurt. so that is the reason for this being late, plus i'm busy working and all that other shit, and i hardly have enough time on the computer, which is where i need to be in order to work on all of this.

I, sadly, do not know when i'll have the next chapter up. looking at it right now it looks like it would be a filler chappie, and to be honest i hate fillers. especially when i'm reading them and the story is really suspenseful. so you can imagine an impatient person like me screaming at the story to just get on with it. unless its cute fluffy flirty romancy stuff. That is the only kind of filler i can live with.

Also i am busy with other obsessive fangirl fics. I have no idea what i'm going to do with PM. I want to continue it, i just need to be put in a certain and i haven't been in a certain mood lately except stress and...HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!. I'm syched for the movie, plus i'm planning on publishing my fic for it soon. But the thing is the fic is incredibly long, i keep on changing it, and i don't want to get sidetracked. Cause once i start on it i'll forget about everything else i do on fanfiction. So i'm going to control my HP urges until at least this fic is done. And the ending is in mind, so i will finish it. take that as a promise. if i don't feel free to insult me cause i'll deserve it.

plus, i also want to know what you think of my caged fight scene. I haven't published them before so any honest opinion is appreciated. Also what you thought of the entire chappie is nice.

Have a great life!! (cause if you just say day you only mean one nice day out of their entire life)

-See ya!!


	12. Curse of the Darkness

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 12**

**Curse of the Darkness**

After explaining everything that had occurred within the past hour to Elsa, Katara found herself out of breath, not realizing she had been talking so quickly. She blamed it on her shaken nerves.

Elsa on the other hand was shocked at Ozaian's actions, not realizing he was willing to do such things when his scheme of impersonating Zuko was at stake. Then again he was drunk on a hard core brand of whiskey. She made a mental note to hide his stores to make him think that he had simply misplaced them.

"From now on make sure that the door to your room is locked if you don't want that to happen again," Elsa advised Katara as she healed her arm with her bending.

It took her longer to heal broken bones then just plain cuts and scars, mostly because it wasn't on the surface of the skin; it was deep within the body, therefore making it take longer healing sessions.

But nevertheless, within minutes her broken arm was completely healed. It was in that instant when a guard barged into the room rudely and without knocking. He was obviously a rogue. "Ozaian demands that you put your healing abilities to good use and heal him from his injury…as well as the injured crew members," and with that he turned on his heal and left as quickly and unexpectedly as he arrived.

Katara was annoyed and somewhat angered by the man's rudeness. _And what makes him think that_ _I'll heal Ozaian after all that he has done to me and Zuko._

"You should hop to it," began Elsa as she picked up some things that were scattered on the floor of Katara's room. "The last thing we need right now is him angry and drunk again."

Katara nodded as she began to change into a fresh piece of clothing, one that wasn't ripped, torn and bloodied. As she slid the dress over her shoulders she said, "The crew members will be the first to be healed, Ozaian will be last."

Elsa looked at Katara questioningly, and was about to say something when Katara said "Could you see if there are any nurses on the ship and send them to Ozaian to keep him occupied before I arrive."

Elsa nodded, understanding why the future Fire Lady wouldn't want to be around Ozaian after what he had so recently attempted to do to her. "And could you also make sure that Zuko gets some medicine and proper nutrition, he's been coming down with some sort of sickness lately and its only worsened because its been neglected."

Elsa nodded once more as Katara left the room to find the crew members who needed her. She didn't know if it was just her or if Katara was toughening up due to the circumstances that constantly surrounded them. It was something that she had seen a while ago, when Ursa was the Fire Lady.

* * *

It was late by the time Katara finished tending to the three crew members who were injured by the lightening strike. One had a very seriously injury because part of the lightening blast struck him severely on the arm. The other two only had minor burns from scorching metal that they accidentally touched while trying to help their injured shipmate. Katara healed every single one of them carefully until their pain receded and they were able to heal properly. They each thanked her as she left with tired eyes.

Then her next task was to find her way back to her room. She figured she could go to Ozaian in the early morning, when he would hopefully have a rather large hangover and not remember anything from the day before. But as she walked through the similar dark hallways of the ship she found herself lost, like a small child in a maze. All the hallways looked the same, the same dark red metal walls and floors, with similar sconces that showed the same dim light as they hung from the walls.

She soon began to wonder if she passed her room a ways back because she closed her eyes in order to let out yawn. She refused to let herself believe that, despite the frustration that was growing inside of her.

She turned around a corner for what seemed like the hundredth time and ran straight into a heavily armored guard. She stumbled back on her feet, while rubbing the tip of her nose that received the majority of the impact. She looked up at the guard she mindlessly ran into, while still holding her sore nose. She immediately recognized him as one of the burly guards that held her while Ozaian almost killed Zuko. She forced herself to turn and run away knowing nothing good could come of hanging around him, but her feet and legs refused to move.

Without a single word spoken he grabbed Katara by her arm, not even bothering to find out if she had healed her arm or not, and half pulled her, half dragged her down a few hallways and around a few corners, until he finally stopped in front of a door, quickly opened it, pushed her inside, and closed it just as quickly as the rest of his actions were.

Katara was speechless and slightly shaken by the guard's quick and merciless actions. She found herself in a pitch dark room, and did not want to wait and find out why he put her in here.

It didn't take her long to start banging on the door demanding that the guard let her out. She jiggled the doorknob consistently, but to no avail it was locked and she was stuck inside. She felt her heartbeat quicken.

She quieted herself to see if she could hear if the guard was still outside the door. She heard nothing, nothing but her own breath.

Sad and defeated she turned around to see if there was a bed in the room that she could curl up in for the night, and begin the search for her own room in the morning.

She felt to hands reach out and grab her biceps. She shrieked from shock, not realizing that someone else was in the room. One of the hands on her biceps quickly moved to cover her mouth, silencing her. She squinted her eyes to see through the darkness, but could only make out a figure standing right in front of her. She struggled but his grip was firm.

"How nice of you to join me," said a venomous voice. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

_Oh No! Please don't tell me!_

"You know I've been awfully lonely since you left the palace," he continued, speaking just barely above a whisper.

He had let his hand drop from her mouth, allowing her to speak, "You deserve to be after what you've done and what you will do."

He pushed her against the door, obviously insulted by her words. "Please, you know what it is like to be lonely, so lonely that you might do the unthinkable. Betray the one you love in order to save the one you love."

Both his hands had now wandered down to her waist and pushed her hips against his own. She kept her hands pressed firmly against his chest trying to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. He wasn't giving up.

She could understand what he was trying to do but she wasn't falling for it. She wasn't giving up either.

"What do you want?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"You know what I want," he replied grimly.

She couldn't tell if he was drunk or not, even though she did catch a small whiff of alcohol on his breath.

She suddenly felt his lips on hers. It was gentler then his previous attempts at kissing her, but nevertheless she wasn't giving in and didn't kiss him back. She sealed her lips shut preventing him from continuing to smooch her.

He pulled away defeated, yet his hands on her hips remained firm. She couldn't tell if he was looking into her eyes or not, the darkness was too great.

"Why don't you ever give up, I'll never give into you," she said defiantly.

"We'll see about that."

She felt his grip on her disappear, then footsteps recede, and bed springs squeak under a new weight. He had gone to bed, he had given up, for now.

But yet she was still stuck in the room. She quickly turned around and tried to open the door again and this time more desperately, not wanting to be stuck in the room with him the rest of the night.

"You're not getting out of this room even if the ship is sinking," she heard him say from across the room. The thought sickened her, and she jiggled the knob of the door even more fiercely.

"Relax and come to bed with me, I'll let you out in the morning," he spoke again. She shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her.

Silence ensued. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She could feel her eyelids drooping from exhaustion. Yawning she leaned her back against the door and slid to the floor. With her head leaning against the door and her shoulder she fell into a deep and uncomfortable sleep.

Katara awoke a few hours later. Her neck was stiff and sore as well as her back and various other muscles. She stood and stretched them out as best as she could. Rubbing her eyes she realized that the once dark room was now slightly brighter. She assumed dawn was approaching. She saw Ozaian lying sprawled out on his bed, still within a deep sleep. His chest was bare except for the bandages around and over his right shoulder.

She felt somewhat safe. Even though her situation was more like a mouse stuck in the lion's den while the lion was sleeping. Any minute the lion would awake and feast on the helpless mouse.

She wasn't sure how she was getting out. The door was locked from the outside and only the guards would open it at Ozaian's command.

She sighed at how helpless her situation was, or seemed.

Moments passed and she had settled into a plush chair near the door, waiting for something to happen.

She felt as if she was going to fall back asleep, as she was still really tired, and only had received a few hours of sleep previously.

More moments passed and out of the silence came a clink from the other side of the door. Katara jerked up in the chair, realizing that someone was opening the door from the other side. She wasn't sure if it was a miracle or not. If it was a servant they would let her leave. If it was a guard they would not. She prayed it was a servant.

The door opened and in walked Elsa carrying a covered tray, most likely Ozaian's breakfast. Katara let out a huge sigh of relief as she thanked the spirits.

"Elsa!" Katara spoke.

Elsa almost jumped where she stood, not realizing that Katara was in the room. "Katara what are you doing in here?" she said surprised.

"Ozaian locked me in last night, nothing happened though. How's Zuko?"

"I was just about to go and check on him," she said as she set the tray down on the table in the room, and then turned to Katara. "Sweetheart you look terrible," she exclaimed noticing Katara's stressed and exhausted eyes, her hair in a tangled mess and her clothes wrinkled.

"I know I slept against the door last night," she said gesturing to the door of the room.

"Well get back to your room, rest and wash up," she said sympathetically.

Katara nodded and began to make her way to the door. She stopped at the threshold and said, "I got lost last night trying to find it."

Elsa was starting to tidy things up around Ozaian's room. "It's just down the hall and to the right."

Katara muttered her thanks and proceeded her way down the hall into her room. She felt embarrassed for having to ask Elsa such a simple question. But Elsa was kind and gentle enough to understand. Katara felt lucky for having an ally like her, no matter how old she was.

As soon as Katara entered her room, she locked her door, and fell down onto her bed, exhausted and still fully dressed. Then fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

A/N: Hi! sorry it took so long to update I've been really busy during the last few weeks of summer and first weeks of school. I still am busy. But after recieving a complaint about the long update i decided to start picking up the pace with this chapter. So I did, but even that took a long time.

In other news I have started working on a couple other zutara stories. Personaly I think they are better then this one. But first I want to finish this story first, just to prove to myself and you that I can finish a story. Then I will publish them. I have forgotten about PM, more of that is on its way. I don't know when, it just is.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, to me it just seems like a filler, but it fits well with the plot. I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting. There might also be another long update, at least until the middle of october, because after that I will have more time.

-Hope you have a lovely late summer and fall season! See ya!!


	13. The Heat Rises

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 13**

**The Heat Rises**

Ozaian awoke the next morning to find his head pounding and his sight blurred. Every light seemed too bright and the smallest noise rung in his ears. He grunted painfully and rubbed his eyes trying to recall what had happened the night before. As hard as he tried he couldn't recall anything except Katara not obeying him.

He grunted angrily as a guard walked in to deliver him the daily status report, he took it and carelessly tossed it onto his desk.

"Make sure that Mistress Katara doesn't leave her room, until further orders from me," he commanded as he sat up stretching out his stiff limbs.

"Yes, sir," said the guard as he saluted and left the room.

* * *

Katara awoke a few hours later, to find herself completely at ease, as if she wasn't in the lions den, and her love didn't live behind bars. She ate her breakfast slowly and quietly savoring the taste of the food as if she hadn't eaten in a long time.

As her food digested she took a nice long soak as she bathed, washing all the dirt and sweat from her body. She then dressed in one of her red gowns; her only regret was that she wished she was wearing blue instead.

She stared in the mirror and noticed how messy her snarled hair was. She picked up her brush and untangled the mess that was her hair to replace it with her regular neat curls. She had no ornaments to decorate or place within her hair, not even the bands to create her hair loopies that she wore when she was younger but still had a taste for. So to her distaste she left it plain.

She figured she would go and visit Zuko and see how he was holding up, but once when she opened her room's door she was surprised to find a guard standing right outside. She tried to pass him several times but each time he blocked her way, closing every gap that had opened. Finally, slightly frustrated, she said, "If you'll excuse me, I'm trying to leave my room."

"By orders of Ozaian you are not allowed to leave your room until further orders from him, so consider yourself under house arrest for the time being," the guard said through his mask, before slamming the door in her face. Katara was annoyed by his rudeness, and felt somewhat sad as she felt her peaceful morning slip away.

Slightly stunned she sat on the edge of her bed, trying to brainstorm a plan of escape, but it wasn't long before hopelessness sank in and she let the tears fall down her cheeks.

* * *

Zuko kept on reminding himself to thank Elsa for the interest she had taken in his health. He wasn't entirely healed from his little epidemic, but he was better then before. Better as in survival was in plain sight, and it was all thanks to the healing herbs and the extra food she had been bringing him.

He could feel his strength slowly returning to him. He wasn't sure if it was his recovery from his sickness or the extra time he had spent in his cell working on his fire bending forms, he eventually came to the conclusion that it was both.

The minutes of the day passed slowly as if they were hours as he waited for Katara to visit. Over the past few days he had become reliant on Katara's visits. It was his limited way of making sure that she was safe. He knew that it was his duty to make sure she was. Ever since he had mentioned his plans to her father, Hakoda had made him promise that he would look after and care for his daughter, knowing full well of the number of enemies that Zuko had as Fire Lord. Zuko who of course promised not just Hakoda but Katara as well and spirits help him because he would stop at nothing to prevent it from being broken.

The hours of the day passed as the sun moved higher in the sky. Zuko could tell by his bending abilities that it was later then when Katara usually visited. He began to worry. 'What ifs?' soon began to fill mind. He sat down on the floor of his cell, hands in his hair as he began to fear the worst.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a glinting piece of metal lying beyond the bars of his cell. He lifted his head from his hands to find that it was a pry bar. It had fallen out of one of the cargo boxes when the lightening had struck the ship.

With the key to his escape in sight he reached an arm through an opening in the bars, stretching to reach the piece of metal that would he his escape. He stretched every muscle in his arm from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers. He stretched until he felt like his arm would grow in length. But no matter how hard he tried the tips of his fingers fell mere inches short of the pry bar. Upon realizing that it was useless he sighed defeat and pulled his arm back through the bars, realizing that all he could do was keep himself from going crazy and wait until Elsa arrived later in the day.

* * *

Ozaian clenched and unclenched his eyes several times, trying to clear the blurriness of his memory from the previous night. He was hoping he could recall that Katara had finally given in to him, but after being unable to recall anything of that sort he dismissed it as a fantasy. But as his headache died away and his other senses returned to normal, pieces of the memory of last night slowly fell back into his grasp.

Upon recalling the memory he pushed his breakfast aside and headed straight for the room of his brother's fiancé.

He knocked on her door rather nonchalantly despite his irritable mood. After waiting outside for a few moments and hearing no response he entered to find her reclining on her bed, with her sad eyes staring into space.

He leaned upon the door's threshold and crossed his arms as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"So why did you leave me last night?" he asked out of the blue. Katara broke out of her trance upon hearing his words and stared at him as if he was crazy.

"So why did you?" he asked carelessly once more.

Katara considered her plan of action, taking into account that he was drunk last night, and being a healer she was well aware of the effects of a hangover when one goes to sleep drunk.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said playing dumb, while feigning anger.

"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? You were there last night in my room. You have to remember something?" he said as slowly as he could while his anger grew.

"I was never in your room last night. I'm afraid your love of whiskey has caused you to witness things that you only wish would happen," she said still feigning anger as she turned her gaze from Ozaian to the ceiling of her room.

Ozaian scanned his memory of the day before to see if what she said was true. Most of the night was a blur, but he could recall very strongly his quarrel with Zuko in the brig and the effects of it. He touched his torso to feel for the bandages that were wrapped around his chest. He felt them through his clothing as well as a hint of pain from the wound he had received just barely above his heart.

"So you mean to tell me that you never came by to heal me when you were ordered to do so?" he said through clenched teeth.

Katara shot up from where she lay on her bed, not realizing that she had forgotten that small detail. She silently cursed herself from being so foolish.

"Well, did you?" he snarled.

She said nothing but just stared at the foot of her bed, fear of what he would do slowly overpowering her.

In two long strides he crossed the room, grabbed her arm yanking her off the bed, and delivered a sharp backhand across her mocha colored cheek.

Katara still refused to meet his gaze, knowing that at the moment it was her only way of fighting back.

* * *

Elsa had heard everything from outside Katara's room. Minutes earlier she was walking down the hallway towards Katara's room to check on her since she had heard that Katara was placed under house arrest. When she saw Ozaian standing in the threshold of Katara's room she froze where she stood, listening to every word that would reach her ears from the room.

As seconds passed she crept forward as quietly as she could, still listening intently. By the time Ozaian had crossed the threshold she was standing right outside the door, yet hidden from sight.

She had heard everything that was said, even the sharp slap that was delivered across Katara's cheek. With her heart pounding in her chest she knew what she had to do. Katara and Zuko had suffered long enough from Ozaian and his wrath. It was time for true action to be taken, as in no more sneaking around.

She left her hiding spot beside the door to Katara's room and scurried off toward the brig as fast as her elderly limbs could manage.

* * *

Less then an hour had passed and Zuko was at the end of his nerves. He didn't know how much more he could take of this. Katara was in trouble and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He needed the assurance that she was safe, and soon or else he would unintentionally pull his hair out by the roots.

As if his prayers were answered he heard footsteps scurry down the stairs toward the brig. He prayed it was Katara. But his prayers weren't answered this time when Elsa appeared out of the stairwell, and judging by the stricken expression on her face he knew that whatever news she brought wasn't good news at all.

"You need to get out of there Zuko, Katara needs you," said Elsa as she made her way through the cargo boxes.

Zuko, now standing and gripping the iron bars of his cell said, "What happened? Where is she? Do you have a key?"

"Its Ozaian, I'm not entirely sure of the situation, but I have a pretty good hunch of what will happen soon, and no unfortunately I don't have a key," said Elsa as she neared his cell.

Zuko couldn't, no, wouldn't let whatever was about to happen, happen. Hoping that it would work he stepped back from his cell door, and delivered a swift kick to the door. He fell to the floor humiliated and defeated with a 'humph.' While in the midst of standing up he caught sight of the pry bar that he couldn't reach earlier. Slightly humiliated at his failure to kick the door down he asked Elsa to hand him the pry bar that lay on the floor. He didn't have time to think about why the door opened for his brother and not for him, mostly because he didn't want to.

He regained his composure by the time Elsa was able to hand him the pry bar through the bars of his cell.

Positioning it at the lock of the cell door he was stopped by Elsa. With impatience and worry taking control of him he only heard theses few words, "Please do not let Katara end up like your mother she deserves better then your mother's fate."

The words gripped his heart, did Elsa really now what really happened to his mother after all these years. His father refused to tell him before he died and his uncle had no knowledge of the subject, due to the fact that he was far away in the earth kingdom when it happened. He had always assumed that his mother had left the Fire Nation after that one night years ago. He always hoped that she would return ever since he was crowned Fire Lord, but she never showed, not even a simple letter or news report concerning her appeared on his desk.

Pushing the sad thoughts aside for a later date he gave the pry bar a swift tug and the door to his cell swung open in his hinges and for the first time in days he was free from the forces of iron.

Giving Elsa a quick thank you he dashed up the stairs away from the brig toward Katara, hoping he wasn't too late.

As Elsa watched him leave she considered what she would do to cover Zuko's escape. But not a lot of thought was given to the subject when a sharp blow was delivered swiftly to her head. She fell to the floor loosing consciousness. The last thing she could recall seeing was a shadow moving across the room towards the stairs, after the true Fire Lord Zuko.

* * *

A/N: Hey!! I hope your not too mad at me for taking so long to update. I've been busy and this chapter was challenging for me to write. But I promise i'll add chapter 14 around Christmas or New Years. and in other news it is my duty to inform you that we have entered the last of the chapters to this story there will be almost 20 chapters total maybe less but this story will end around that number. I just hope that the ending is too your liking when it comes around. So please feel free to review, let me know what you think of this chapter. I'll love you if you do!!!

Thx 4 reading  
-See ya!


	14. Old Vendettas

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 14**

**Old Vendettas**

Zuko raced through the ship searching for Katara. He knew time was short and scolded himself for not running quick enough, even though he was running as fast as he could, but his patience stretched too thin.

He knew the layout of his own ships, having spent several years on one when he was a teenager, but having spent his entire time in the brig he never had a chance to learn where Ozaian was keeping Katara. He checked all the possible locations as he made his way up through the floors of the ship. After he had scoured the lower levels he had finally made his way out onto the deck, where he could access the upper floors of the ship. As he emerged from the stairs of the lower levels he swore he heard somebody behind him. He quickly glanced behind him to see if anyone was there. Strangely, he saw no one. But by the time he had turned around to face forward it was too late and he had run right into one of his most loathed old enemies.

At first he thought he had just run right into a deformed old man. But as the old guy got to his feet with the help of his bodyguards that wore bleached white masks and old fire nation uniforms. Zuko's heart rate quickened in fear, and once when he saw those unmistakable, unnaturally large side burns. He knew who he was up against.

"Zhao," he said as they both got to their feet.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't the once great Fire Lord, who will soon be overthrown by his long forgotten twin," said Zhao menacingly through his deformed lips.

"I don't think that will be the case Zhao, after all your supposed to be dead," replied Zuko fighting back rage and impatience.

"Well we'll see won't we, after all it is about that time when you received the consequences of your actions from those many years ago," he said menacingly.

Zuko grit his teeth as he said, "Your probably talking about what happened at the North Pole aren't you? And I'll have you know that what you've become today you brought upon yourself and for the record I tried to save your life but it was you who refused."

The memory of what happened that one night at the North Pole was fresh in both of their minds. The moon a blood red then dark as its life vanished. The spirit of the ocean's hand plucking Zhao from his duel with Zuko, beginning to drag him down into the icy waters, and Zuko reaching out his hand to help him but Zhao refused as he accepted his fate. Now his face was severely scarred as punishment for his crime. It was obvious that the spirits thought a just punishment was to take back some of the gifts that they had given him, which would explain his severe deformities. It was also known as the Spirit's Curse.

Zhao was too angry to face the facts, all he wanted was revenge. To see Zuko lying on the floor dead, his golden eyes dull, his body cold and stiff, and the stench of his blood filling the air. The very image temporarily satisfied him, but it wouldn't be enough to quench his thirst until the image became real.

His lust for blood fueled his anger in such a way that he sent a deathly wave of fire in Zuko's direction, with his soldiers following suit.

Zuko felt the heat of the approaching fire near him. His instincts told him to create a wall of fire himself to block or ease the impact of the blow. But something in his mind told him otherwise. If he did attempt to block the blow he would have to conjure up another blow himself, thus beginning a duel, which would take up more time then necessary. Zuko did not have time on his side. He needed to ditch Zhao and find Katara before Ozaian did the unthinkable.

The fire was all too close now. He could feel it begin to singe his skin and clothes. He slowly closed his eyes as if he was accepting his fate. He could picture Zhao smirking malevolently as he was engulfed by flames.

Zhao watched as his long time rival was engulfed by flames all the while grinning triumphantly. He waited for the fire to die down to reveal a dead and burned Zuko, but it never happened. Instead the fire that surrounded his enemy began to grow. Slowly at first but as the seconds passed the faster it grew. Until it was so large that it burst like an overfilled balloon.

Zhao, cut off guard by the blow, lost his footing and was sent flying across the deck only to hit his head on the railing and loose consciousness.

Zuko stood in the middle of deck still standing in a fighting position. The edges of his already ratty clothes singed but were otherwise intact. Small and harmless burn marks dotted his skin but other then that he was in no great pain, having suffered from far worse burns in the past. His breath was heavy as his eyes scanned the deck. Upon seeing Zhao and his minions unconscious he relaxed his fighting stance, with a small, triumphant smirk on his face.

Seeing that his plan worked and that he was successful he proceeded with his mad dash toward the upper levels of the ship.

It wasn't long till Zhao regained consciousness. Once he found that Zuko was gone he angrily muttered to himself, "Coward! That bastard didn't even have the courage to finish me off…again."

Though his body ached with every movement he made, he found his feet once more, kicked his guards awake and bluntly ordered them pursue Zuko into the upper levels of the ship.

* * *

Ozaian groaned in irritation at the unwillingness of the waterbender that refused to give in to him and his needs. Everything he tried she somehow managed to wiggle out of. But like the waterbender he would not give up till she gave into him.

So far in his quest to seduce and/or rape her he had only gotten her outer dress off, leaving her in only a plain red shift, that hugged her body more then her dress did and also revealed a little more skin. Seeing her like this only increased his drive, but it didn't make his pursuit any easier.

For awhile he had her front side pinned up against the wall. It was where he had managed to get her dress off and had begun to remove her shift and he probably would've succeeded if he wasn't interrupted.

He had lowered the shoulder straps from her shoulders and had begun to kiss the tender flesh of her neck and collarbone. He couldn't help but smirk through his kisses whenever she shivered and whimpered. He was about to slide the shift further off of her when someone burst through the door of her room.

While still holding Katara against the wall he turned angrily toward the person who interrupted him.

"What do you want?" he snarled, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The young spy said nothing and bowed to his master, trying not to show how scared he was of him. Once he straightened up he noticed Katara and the fear in her eyes as she was pinned against the wall. He himself knew Ozaian was evil but his cowardliness convinced him to take no action.

"I just came to inform you that Zuko has escaped from the brig and is currently searching for Lady Katara," he said as sternly as he could while holding Ozaian's gaze.

Ozaian's tense anger relaxed slightly upon hearing the news. After he dismissed the spy and the bedroom door was securely closed once more he released his hold on Katara, whose legs gave way under her as she scrambled on the floor for her dress. She found herself trembling as she fingered the fine material of her outer garment. Yet she felt something inside of her blossom that she hadn't felt since the messenger hawks were intercepted, hope.

Zuko was free.

He was on his way to save her.

He was going to defeat Ozaian.

It was all going to be over soon.

She felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips as she slipped the battered dress over her head. She stumbled a few times as she got to her feet. She remembered feeling the hem of her dress brushing against her feet and the feeling a being slightly safer now that she was covered once more. But the serene thought was interrupted when she felt Ozaian grab her arm and throw her against the wall. She let out a yelp of pain when her head collided with the wall.

She prayed that Zuko would arrive soon. She didn't know how much more abuse she could take. She was well aware of what Ozaian could do when he was unstable and drunk. She feared what he was capable of when he was sober and had full control over his actions. She didn't think she would get lucky this time.

She opened her eyes that had closed from the sudden impact of pain, to find Ozaian standing inches from her face. His eyebrows were furrowed in rage and his mouth was the shape of a grim frown. If it wasn't his expression that scarred her then it definitely would have been the small dagger that he held in his hand, threateningly close to her face.

She felt her heart thump rapidly against the inside of her rib cage, as fear took hold of her.

She wanted to run.

She felt her legs beckon her to take flight.

But her fear stricken mind kept her in place, as well as Ozaian's other hand that was positioned at the base of her throat, holding her against the wall.

"Zuko broke his side of the deal," Ozaian began suddenly, making Katara jump. "Do you recall the deal?" he said as he pressed the flat side of the blade against Katara's smooth cheek, making her shudder from the touch of the cold steel.

Ozaian, however, did not wait for Katara to answer and said, "The deal was that as long as he behaved and stayed put, you would be unharmed. However, by his escape he has broken his part of the deal. Now I am afraid you will have to face and bear the consequences."

The all too familiar malice in his voice still sent shivers up and down her spine. Yet she didn't quite recall Zuko and Ozaian making that kind of bargain.

Her eyes widened fearfully as the small dagger that he held mere inches from her face suddenly became surrounded by flames.

All Ozaian did was smirk.

* * *

Zuko continued his dash through the ship's corridors, his luck had been no greater then it was several minutes ago. He still hadn't found Katara and his patience was at its end. He prayed and hoped that something or someone would help him find Katara.

His prayers where suddenly answered in a most unorthodox way, when he heard a bloodcurdling scream come from down the hall. He felt his heart almost stop.

_Katara!_

Without a second thought he dashed to the room that he assumed, no knew was the origin of the scream, and burst through the door.

The first thing he saw was Katara with fresh tears falling down her cheeks, as Ozaian held her against the wall, with the shoulder of her dress having a large hole that was burned through to the skin and surrounded by blood. He knew it was Ozaian that had inflicted that wound on her, since he held a smoking dagger in his hand with blood coating the edge.

None of this settled well with Zuko, it only allowed his anger to reach high levels that it hadn't reached in a long time. Taking a fighting stance he said "Let her go Ozaian."

Ozaian turned to Zuko, his hold on Katara still firm and unwavering. Zuko was slightly taken aback by the crazed look in Ozaian's eyes, as if he was on the verge of insanity. It could only remind him of Azula's crazed looks after she herself lost the last of her sanity.

Tense, silence moments passed and nothing happened. Until Zuko, his patience at an end said, practically screamed, "Ozaian! Let. Her. Go."

Ozaian grinned an evil grin and said, "I don't think so, _brother_!"

Zuko stared at him confused, not fully understanding what he meant. Then suddenly he felt something heavy and hard hit him in the back of the head, knocking him off his feet. However he didn't loose consciousness. In the midst of regaining his posture he was grabbed by his arms and roughly pulled too his feet, then forced down to his knees. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know that he was being held by Zhao's men. It was Zhao's grim and mutated laughter gave it away.

"Well, well," began Zhao, strolling in front of Zuko, who struggled in the arms of his men. "The Fire Lord overcome by nothing more then a band of rouges. How shameful! No wonder many men of the Fire Nation refuse to even acknowledge their heritage in the world."

Zuko ignored the comment, knowing he had more important things to worry about then Zhao mocking and jeering at him. He tried in vain to free himself from the soldiers' grasp. But their strong hold on him was unwavering.

Zhao turned to Ozaian and said, "It appears that I was right about keeping him alive. I mean look at how much trouble he has caused, he even attacked me and my men out on the deck."

"I will not kill my own brother," snapped Ozaian. "You know how well the spirits are capable of making one reap the consequences of their actions."

Zhao stroked one of his gray side-burns and said, "I was never quite fond of how superstitious you were, and then again I never said that you should be the one to end him."

Katara felt a mix of fear and panic rise in her chest. Zuko's fate was literally in the hands of these two men, and they were both standing there discussing if he should be killed or not and if so, who should end his life. What sickened her about it all was that they were talking about Zuko, her Zuko, as if he was some sort of worthless object that could be disposed of. The only thing that seemed to comfort him at the moment was Zuko's golden orbs meeting her tear-filled blue ones. They held onto each other's gaze as if they were holding on for dear life, and in their current situation they were.

"What do you mean?" questioned Ozaian as he still kept his hold on Katara.

"Well, I've been wanting to kill this man ever since he let this happen to me," he said gesturing toward his face and hand. "So if you don't want to get your hands dirty I would gladly have my men do it for you. What do you say?"

Katara let more tears fall out of her eyes, before she knew it she was pleading for him to spare Zuko. "Please let him live, please, I beg of you," she said through choked sobs. At her words Ozaian promptly slapped her across the face, silencing her, but not her sobs and tears. Zuko fought against the guards that held him as he witnessed this. Ozaian leaned close to Katara's ear, and whispered, "Give me one good reason why I should let him live."

Katara felt him bite her ear and suck on part of her skin in a seductive way, all the while hearing Zuko struggle. "Cause I can think of a hundred good reasons why I should kill him," he whispered into her ear once more before pulling away.

Ozaian then turned to Zhao and through his insane eyes and clenched jaw he said, "Go ahead and kill him."

* * *

A/N: Sorry I'm updating this late. This took longer to write then I thought. But here it is. I can only hope that you got some enjoyment out of it. I know its a little intense, but to be honest when I'm watching a movie there is nothing I like more then a suspenseful intense battle scene, as well as hard core romance, so I hope that I managed to pull off a tone of tension in my writing.

One reviewer said that my story was riveting. to this reviewer I want to say thank you, because it helped me type this chappie faster, and it meant alot. Because I haven't been getting a lot of reviews lately. So PLEASE!! let me know what you think. Compliment or complaint I will be happy to receive and read it.

In other news I can now count the number of chapters left on one hand. So the end is near :o!!

I don't know when I'll update again. I'm in the middle of embarking on several other writing endeavors, which are mostly fan fictions. But I'll update when I can.

See Ya:)

-I own nothing!! and made no profit whatsoever!!


	15. The End of it All

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 15**

**The End of it All**

Even Zhao noticed how close Ozaian was to insanity. The possessed look in his eyes shook the former admiral's certainty. But nevertheless, he would finally be rid of the pest that they called Fire Lord. So with an almost careless gesture he signaled his men to kill the captive Fire Lord.

Instantly one of his men grabbed Zuko by his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck. While the other pulled out a short blade, which seemed to shine with a vicious lust for blood. But before the soldier could place the sharp metal against the tender flesh of Zuko's throat Zhao barked, "What do you think your doing? Don't do it in here you'll get blood all over the floor. At least kill him out in the hall."

The soldiers did as they were told and dragged Zuko out into the hall. Zhao, somewhat surprised at the Fire Lord's sudden submissiveness, shut the door to the room, leaving him with Zuko's near hysterical fiancé and edge of insanity twin. They stood there in silence for several moments. The only sounds coming from Katara's sobs that she was trying to hold back. Then suddenly several discreet noises were heard from out in the hall. Most of them they were unable to decipher. But the most profound one was a body hitting the ground hard, most likely dead or unconscious.

The two men let out a small sigh of relief and satisfaction, figuring that their long term enemy was finally dead.

Ozaian, still holding Katara against the wall, felt her body go limp in his grasp. Her eyes were open yet empty and her tear stained face seemed almost lifeless except for her shallow breathing. Even though Zhao didn't care about the betrothed water maiden he could tell that she had gone into a state of shock, knowing that her fiancé was now dead and gone. He had seen it many times when he had executed people in front of their loved ones.

Ozaian carelessly placed Katara on her bed, where she lay like a lifeless doll. A devilish smirk etched the features on his face, knowing that the next time he advanced on her she wouldn't be able to say no. But he knew that it would have to wait, first he had to settle some kinks in his contract with Zhao.

Ozaian turned to Zhao and said, "So what problems do you have with our contract?"

"No problems at all, just a question concerning our bargain. But shall we discuss this out on deck; I have a ship waiting for me. It won't take that long, I see you'll want to finish what you started," he said, glancing at Katara.

Ozaian nodded and the two men proceeded out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

* * *

Upon hearing the thudding sound of the door to Katara's room closing. Zuko hastened his efforts in shoving the second unconscious body of Zhao's guard into the small supply closet.

It wasn't easy breaking free of their grasp and knocking them out. But the fact that he was able to do so gave him a sense of security that Elsa's medicine worked. He had never been that close to death in a while. Usually he didn't fear death, but the thought of leaving his Katara in the hands of his brother sickened him. Mostly because he swore to himself that he would never let that happen to her.

Hearing the footsteps approaching his position he practically threw the guard into the cramped closet and shut the door, breaking the knob off so they couldn't get out easily. The footsteps were getting closer and he quickly turned a corner down the dark corridor, hiding amongst the shadows.

He knew it was Zhao and Ozaian; there was no mistaking their voices. They were conversing as they passed the corridor were he was hidden. He couldn't hear what they were saying but he knew it had something to do with their alliance. Ozaian was practically overthrowing him by giving Zhao power.

Once that thought came to mind he knew then that he had to destroy Ozaian himself. Not kill him, seeing for himself that it brought bad luck, but overall end his destructive reign.

Seeing that the two men were far down the hallway, he crept out of his hiding spot and followed them, staying hidden among the shadows.

* * *

The two men proceeded out onto the deck, overhead the sky was a clear blue with sparse white clouds. They both considered it a good sign for them, or so they thought.

"So to answer your question, now that my brother is disposed of we can proceed to the Fire Nation Capital, were I will wed his fiancé, whether she likes it or not. While your men, my men and other rogue leaders will be attacking the largest port city in the Fire Nation. Afterwards we will convince the people to go to war with the earth kingdom, and thus picking up where my father left off. Except this time we will force the Water Tribes to cooperate since I will have wed a member of their tribes. I will be called Fire Lord and you will be named my head general. Does that sound good to you?" he asked holding out his hand for Zhao to shake.

"It sounds excellent," he said shaking his hand. "I look forward to the future that's in store for us."

"I wouldn't say that just yet Zhao," said a voice from the doorway. Both men turned toward the source of the voice and were quite surprised to see Zuko standing there alive with hardly a scratch on him. At first they thought they were seeing a ghost, since they assumed he was dead. But then they realized that they had been tricked. When they walked out into the hallway they should have taken into notice the missing guards and the lack of blood spilled out on the floor. They cursed themselves for their insolence.

Ozaian was about to raise his voice and call for his men, since they were alone on deck, but Zuko cut him off and said, "Don't even think about it Ozaian. We are settling this here and now. I challenge you to an Agni Kai, winner takes all."

Ozaian threw his head back and let out a sarcastic laugh. Zuko couldn't help but notice how it sounded just like Azula's when she lost her sanity. But nevertheless Zuko said, "I mean it Ozaian, winner takes all, the throne and the Fire Nation."

Zuko never thought that he would never have to do something like this again: fight a sibling for the thrown. But he had no choice, the thrown was rightfully his, he was the firstborn son, not Ozaian. He knew he had the advantage over Ozaian. He was sane, Ozaian wasn't. He knew he would win, he had to win.

Ozaian let out a scoff and said, "You're on _brother_!"

* * *

A/N: So what did you guys think? I now its short, but when I was writing the outlines for this chapter it just turned out short. I guess its because I like to leave cliffhangers.

But anyway I would like to thank all of you guys for the wonderful, wonderful reviews you left me, as well as the favs and the alerts. And I am ashamed that I didn't update sooner. But if it makes up for my laziness the next chapter will be a lot more action packed and a special appearance by someone important, who has yet to show himself ...or herself. And if you like my stories I will soon be uploading the first chapter of a new fic I am writing.

An old reviewer told me that my stories are different. I have to admit that is what I aim for, because to be honest I get tired of overused plots. So I try to think outside the box, starting with,"What is a plot that people hardly ever use?". That and my imagination is where it usually begins. And I have gotten off track. Anyway my new fic is also a very different plot, or at least that is what I hope it will be. Its Zutara so if you like zutara there is no need to worry about checking it out.

Jeez I talk a lot. I'm going to let you all get back to your lives now. Thanks for reading. Thanks a bunch for reviewing.

-See ya!!


	16. Hope Returns

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 16**

**Hope Returns**

The tension was thick on the deck as the two brothers stood on opposite ends. They both stood poised ready to attack. Each wore the same look of determination on their faces. To an outsider it looked like one of the brothers was looking at his own reflection. But there was no mirror, only two brothers about to fight over a country and the safety of a maiden.

Shifting his weight from one foot to another Ozaian unleashed a wave of blood red flame, which Zuko countered with his own burst of flame. It didn't take Zuko long to push back the force of heat and temporarily knock Ozaian off his feet. Ozaian soon got to his feet again and countered Zuko with a different attack, which Zuko managed to block and retaliate with an attack of his own.

The steady pattern continued for what felt like hours. Eventually both men began to tire out from the exertion on their bodies. But neither was willing to give in to defeat or settle on a tie. Despite the protest from their bodies they kept on pushing themselves to the limit. They fought and fought, knowing that the fight would end with one of them laying dead.

Ozaian was tired of fighting, he wanted to end this and return to what he was doing except with his brother out of the way. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted several of his men standing in the shadows of the doorway waiting for his command. He thought about just knocking Zuko to the ground and ordering his men to end him without hesitation.

But just when he was about to knock Zuko off his feet with a surprise attack a large and unnatural gust of wind blew the quarrel apart, knocking the two brothers off their feet.

` Zuko was more them tempted to just give in and let sleep consume him because he was so exhausted, but he couldn't, no, wouldn't give up. Too many people where depending on him. Despite his exhaustion and the exertion on his body he managed to find his feet. Slowly his eyes rose to the scene before him and was more then relieved to see his old friend Aang standing on the deck of the ship.

* * *

Aang stood between the two brothers, eyes darting back and forth between them making sure that he wasn't hallucinating and attempting to recognize the original Zuko. "What is going on here?" he demanded. His presence was much more affirmative since he had grown considerably in the past several years and his voice was much deeper and masculine. He was in fact a man now.

Through thick breaths Zuko said, "Aang thank goodness you're here, how did you know to come?"

Aang turned to him, glider clenched in his fist and orange robes flowing gently in the wind. "I received a letter of distress from one of your messenger hawks. I came as soon as I could. Now what exactly is going on here?"

Zuko reminded himself to thank Katara for sending out that letter, knowing it probably had just saved both of their lives.

Ozaian staggered to his feet and pointing an accusatory finger at Zuko said, "Him. My own brother, who has been hidden by my father for years, decides to overthrow me and take the thrown for himself while passing himself off as me, the true Fire Lord. Feel free to bring him to justice Avatar, for no punishment cruel enough will suffice for his crimes."

Aang continued to stare between the two of them confused and unsure what to do and knowing no justice could be served until the real Zuko was identified.

"Aang don't listen to him!" retorted Zuko, furious at how well his brother could lie without breaking a sweat.

"Avatar you must remember me, it was I who helped you complete your fire bending training and assisted you in bringing down the tyrant that was my father. Now don't hesitate in bringing him to justice!" said Ozaian almost shouting, while trying to hide his crazed eyes.

"He's lying Aang!" Zuko retorted once more, praying his old friend would believe him.

"Only the true liar would say that," commented Ozaian, while Zuko gritted his teeth angrily.

Aang listened intently too what they where saying wishing he had brought Toph along with him so he would be able to tell who was lying and who was telling the truth. But in her current condition she wasn't fit to travel, not too mention Appa wasn't feeling well and he wouldn't have been able to bring her along even if she was okay.

"No Aang he's my brother Ozaian, I'm Zuko. He's wanted the thrown for years and finally took action by trying to get rid of me and trying to rape Katara several times. Please believe me Aang the Fire Nation and the rest of the world are at risk," said Zuko slightly damaging his pride by begging his old friend.

Aang pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think of a way to make the real Zuko known. Referring back to the days when they where younger he recalled a specific detail that he could only hope that the real Zuko would remember.

"The real Zuko was my fire bending teacher when I was younger, what nickname did I call him from time to time?" asked the avatar glancing back and forth between the two men.

Ozaian was dumbstruck he had absolutely no idea; this was actually the first time he had met the legendary Avatar Aang. He could feel all that he had worked and strived for begin to slip away. His only thought was how close he had come to achieving it, only to fall just before reaching the top of the mountain.

Zuko with a roll of his eyes said, "Sifu Hotman."

Aang turned to him a smile etching his face. "Glad to see your okay old buddy." Zuko just smiled back at him as a huge wave of relief washed over his shoulders.

Zuko wasted to time in calling some soldiers onto the deck to apprehend his brother. He planned to treat him as he had his sister and father, which was putting them through a fair trial and having them serve out their sentence with life in prison. He knew people would recommend just executing him for his crimes and eliminating whatever threats where left. But he would refuse too stoop to that level, he would not become a barbarian and kill his own flesh and blood.

When the guards arrived on the deck they looked slightly confused, because two men who looked like the Fire Lord stood on deck. One looked completely broken and devastated, while the other despite his rugged clothing looked very confident. Aang understood the predicament and declared Zuko the True Fire Lord who ordered them to take the imposter into custody.

The men did as they were told and moved to apprehend the imposter, while Zuko began to make his way for the upper levels to check on Katara and get back into his uniform.

Once the men grasped Ozaian by the arms, he cracked. His eyes shot wide open as his senses craved blood like never before and it was only his brother's, Zuko's blood, that he craved and longed to see spilt on the floor. Freeing himself from their grasp he grabbed a knife from one of the belts of the men and charged at his brother, screaming like a maniac.

Zuko heard his brother charging at him and turned around to find it too late and Ozaian stabbing him repeatedly in the chest. The pain he experienced in those few moments was indescribable as his flesh was pierced and his blood flowing freely out from him.

* * *

Katara shot up from her sleep screaming, "ZUKO!" as if she knew that something terrible had just happened. She felt her heart thudding rapidly in her chest and an odd pain grazing the skin of her abdomen. She had no idea what was going on.

_Why would Zuko be in pain? Wouldn't he be…dead? Maybe it was just the memory of it?_

Due to her current mental state she was in no condition to think of any other possible solution as to why she felt the things she was feeling. All she could do was cry and grieve for her lost love.

After several sobs escaped and more tears poured down her cheeks she suddenly felt the contents of her stomach come up into her throat. After a quick rush to the bathroom to empty the contents she crawled back into bed and sobbed into her pillow dreading the future that she assumed awaited her when Ozaian returned. Little did she know that Ozaian would not be coming back.

* * *

Aang, seeing his old friend attacked by someone that resembled a maniac, acted instinctively and blew a gust of wind at Ozaian sending him falling off the edge of the deck. Aang didn't even see what he had done since his thoughts where preoccupied by his gravely injured friend. He didn't waste anytime in ordering the guards to take him to the infirmary immediately and treat him before he lost too much blood.

Zuko lay on the deck bleeding profusely. His hands, arms, and chest where covered and continued to drip with blood, while his hands clenched his wounds as if to stop the bleeding even though he knew it was in vain. He cringed and buckled in pain as he felt guards lift him to carry him into what he assume would be the infirmary.

When he heard Aang's voice he immediately reached out and grasped his friend's wrist, not caring that his hand was covered in blood. He felt himself losing consciousness from the loss of blood, but despite his pain he managed to say, "Katara…make sure…she's alright."

Aang listened to Zuko's words knowing full well what he meant, then watched as Zuko's grip on his wrist lessened and his neck go limp as he lost consciousness. The guards carrying Zuko then rushed him into the hallways of the ship towards the infirmary while Aang rushed through the hallways searching for the room that Katara was in granting what he hoped wouldn't be his friend's final wish.

* * *

Ozaian panicked as his hand slipped a little farther down the rope he clung to. He had attempted to climb it but realized it was futile since the rope was heavily moistened by the sea water that constantly surrounded it. Every inch he did climb only led to him to slipping four to five inches down towards the dark waters that churned below him. He screamed for help or some sort of assistance but knew no help would come. It had finally come to what he feared most. Those loyal to his brother now saw him as the traitor he was and those against his brother saw him as a failure and would want nothing to do with him now. He had failed in many ways and the only satisfaction he got out of it was knowing that he at least managed to bring his brother down with him, or so he thought.

Suddenly a familiar figure appeared over the edge of the deck, dark eyes gazing down at Ozaian with hatred. Ozaian recognized this man as the man he asked to spy on Katara and report back to him her actions. He knew the man was fearful of him and knew he would do anything without question.

"You soldier, hoist me up now," Ozaian ordered.

But the man did nothing of the sort, instead he pulled a knife out of the sheath he kept on his belt and lowered the sharpened edge toward the rope, his movements slow and steady. Ozaian then knew that this man had no intention of helping him as well as that his death was close at hand, all he could say was, "Why are you doing this?"

As the man slowly cut the many small threads of the rope he said, "For the good of the Fire Nation and everyone you've hurt."

As if on cue the rope snapped falling away from the ship and Ozaian with it, only to disappear into the dark waters of the ocean never to be seen again.

* * *

A/N: Hello my dear readers long time no see. I am so sorry for the unintentional hiatus. Things just got so hectic with my life and school that whenever i sat down to write i just hit writers block after writers block. But now everything has settled down and summer has started. YAYYYY!XD. So i have already begun work on the next chapter and once when i am finished with chappie 17 i will begin work on the epilouge! After a little over a year i have finished the first fanfic i have ever posted, i can't believe it. Also to those who read my other fanfics those are in the oven too and i just want you all to know that **I WILL NEVER EVER ABANDON A FIC I WILL ALWAYS FINISH WHAT I STARTED EVEN IF IT TAKES ME A LONG TIME**. so everything will be updated in due time, plus some new fics. I've been saying that for awhile haven't i? But im working on all of it I swear.

I hoped you enjoyed this chappie. please let me know what you think any feedback whatsoever is appreciated.

Thanks for reading. Thanks a bunch for reviewing :)

-Till next time XD!


	17. Ozaian's Mark

**Force of Iron**

**Chapter 17**

**Ozaian's Mark**

Aang stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the sounds of a woman sobbing coming from behind the door which he currently stood in front of. Pushing the door open he found Katara broken and sobbing on a bed with rustled sheets and her arms clutching her stomach.

Approaching her he asked, "Katara are you okay?"

Katara seemed to jump at the sound of his voice. Then she looked at her old friend with surprise and shock as to why he was here. She immediately asked, "What is going on?"

Aang could tell that she had been in this room awhile and wasn't up to date on what was going on. He patiently began to explain what he knew, his only interruption being Katara exclaiming; "Zuko's alive!" followed by a temporary look of relief on her face. When he mentioned that Zuko had been gravely injured by Ozaian and was now in the infirmary she jumped off the bed and raced down the halls towards where Zuko was.

* * *

It wasn't long till she arrived at the infirmary. But when she did she burst through the doors and ordered all the nurses and aids out till it was just her and a unconscious Zuko. She immediately knew it was her Zuko just by looking at him. She wasted no time in tending to his wounds and would do it completely by herself even if help was offered, because he was her Zuko and she currently trusted no one on the ship except Aang.

She found that the nurses had already started in trying to bandage up his blood covered chest. She felt her stomach drop when she noticed this, knowing full well how fatal chest wounds could be. Peeling away the blood soaked bandages she let out a sob once she saw the deep incisions of the knife wounds.

As she summoned water from a nearby water jug she couldn't help but recall the time she healed him when they where in prison not so long ago. As the water began to glow she gingerly began to heal him. When she first touched one of the incisions she heard him let out a small grunt of pain, then he barely opened his eyes only to close them and be rendered unconscious once more. Katara felt a small feeling of relief wash over her. He was alive, but in a lot of pain.

One by one she healed the knife wounds until they where all healed completely, leaving only small white scars on his porcelain white yet still bloody chest. _Ozaian may be gone for now but he has left his mark._

Taking a washcloth she began to clean up the remaining blood scattered across his chest. Once that was done she dried her hands and took his face in them, caressing it like a mother would a child. She noticed that he seemed to sleep very peacefully now and couldn't help but be at ease for once, in a long time.

"Zuko are you there? Are you alright?" asked the future Fire Lady to her future husband. At first she received no response. But eventually the muscles in his face began to twitch and he began to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at his future bride.

"I'm fine now thanks to you," he said through tired eyes and a thick breath. He was in fact very tired and overall exhausted. But he himself felt just fine because he had what he thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world staring down at him with love in her eyes. All Katara could do was smile and kiss him fully on lips happy to be with him and safe once more and they would be just that for a long, long time.

* * *

A/N: duh duh dun! the final chappie! I cant believe i finished this story..wait i should be saving that for the epilouge. yes there is an epilouge and it will be posted right after i this chapter is posted, which wouldnt be too long for you guys. I loved working on this story even though it took awhile and i would love to hear what you guys have thought of it overall. I want to be the best writer i can be and any comment whatsoever is greatly appreciated. Im just going to thank everyone now because something tells me i'll forget by the time i post the epilogue.

I would like to thank all of the readers, even if you only read a paragraph or sentence i still want to thank you. I want to thank all those that reviewed, all those that put this story on story alert, and all those that faved. I love you and appreciate everything you have done. Thank you so much!

Thanks for reading, thanks a bunch for reviewing!

onto the epilogue...

-See ya :)


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

They returned to the capital city the next day, acting as if nothing had ever happened while they where away. Which they thought best to do so no panic or ill-boding rumors would spread or start. Overall they decided that anything that had to do with Ozaian should be kept secret and away from the public's ears.

By the time they made it back to the palace Zuko was well enough to stand on his own and resume his duties as Fire Lord, but that was what he was limited to with his exhausted body. He immediately began rooting out Ozaian's subordinates and cohorts, which was rather easy to do since he kept very good records of his doings and dealings. After wards he had to right all the wrongs that Ozaian had committed while he was passing himself off as Fire Lord, which was not an easy task. Then on top on all of that he had his basic duties as the Lord of a Nation to catch up on. Katara had told him that he shouldn't push himself so hard, especially in his condition but he refused. He saw that he had a duty and he wouldn't let his own physical state stop him from doing so.

In order for Zuko to accomplish all this he had to push the wedding back a few days. He expected Katara to be angry or annoyed by this decision and was rather surprised when she kissed him and said that it was okay as long as the wedding was before the end of the month. Zuko couldn't help but ask himself why his fiancé was acting so cheerful about their wedding being pushed back. But he didn't have the time to give it another thought since he had to continue with his work. But when he did think about it at a later time he realized she had been happy quite a lot actually. He figured it was because of the dreadful situation they had just gotten out of. Then one night when he asked her, her only reply was that he'll find out soon enough, with a bright smile on her face of course.

Elsa recovered well, despite the severity of her head injury. Once she was fully healed she immediately started making plans to come back to work and serve the Fire Lord and future Lady. But Zuko saw fit that she had done enough for more then one person in her lifetime and allowed her to retire with a more then decent compensation for someone of her status to live off of.

On the day she left she stopped in Zuko's office to say goodbye and to thank him for everything, as well as tell the truth about his mother that he had waited so long to hear. She had said,

"Fire Lady Ursa was banished for treason and the murder of Fire Lord Azulon. The night that she left Fire Lord Ozai feared that she would go after Ozaian and raise him to bring down his sire as an act of vengeance. Of course he forgot that Ursa would do no such thing no matter how much hate was in her heart; after all she was always a kind and generous spirit. The very night that she was cast out of the palace he sent mercenaries after her to catch and kill her. Sadly they did just that and succeeded. No one deserves to be murdered in cold blood, especially someone like your mother."

Zuko was surprised and sad to hear of his mother's fate; then again he didn't really expect any less of his father. The only comfort he got from Elsa's tale was that he knew the truth after all these years and that his beloved mother was at peace.

* * *

The Fire Lord and Lady entered _their_ bed chamber dressed in their wedding finery, for they had just retired from their wedding ceremony and now wished to spend the night together. They entered the room in a rather bright mood, happy that they where finally husband and wife.

Zuko thought Katara couldn't look anymore beautiful, he didn't know what it was but something about her just seemed to glow and radiate whatever room she was in. Not too mention that she couldn't stop smiling. "Okay now you must tell me why you've been so happy lately," he said walking up to her and putting his arms around her, pulling her body close to his.

"Of course, I was saving it for tonight anyway," she said as Zuko let out a lustful growl and begin to kiss the tender flesh of her neck. Through his kisses he said, "Start talking."

Katara leaned into his kisses relishing in them and in the process and almost lost her train of thought. In between kisses she said, "Well to start…Your alive…Ozaian is gone…Everything is back to the way it was before…"

Zuko nodded in agreement, fingering the ties that held her dress in place while still kissing her. "Anything else," he said not being impatient but wanting to get on with the night.

"Actually yes," she said butterflies blossoming in her stomach. It was then that his lips met hers and his tongue began to tease the farthest corners of her mouth. After their lips parted and their foreheads rested against one anothers, their breaths thick and heavy with longing for one another. Zuko had begun to slide her dress off her shoulders when she said, "I'm pregnant."

Zuko paused in his ministration and their eyes met. Katara couldn't read his face and for a moment thought he was upset about her being pregnant. She knew it was soon but when they where in prison together they where desperate and in need of comfort and simple stuff could be missed, thus resulting in her pregnancy.

Before she could say anything he swept her off her feet, making her squeal in surprise. "You just made me the happiest man in the world," she heard him say, then feeling his lips on her skin, kissing every area they could reach. Then he placed her on the bed where he soon joined her. After all this time they had finally arrived at their happy ending or more appropriately the beginning of a happy life together.

* * *

A/N: sorry if that last line seemed kinda cheesy. seemed good when i originally wrote it and i can't think of a better one. since i suck at closing lines. Anyway i loved working on this story yada yada yada see chapter 17 author's note for my thank yous and such. Please review i will love you forever if you share any thoughts of yours with me.

this story was originally inspired by 'man in the iron mask' which is one of my fav movies of all time. except i twisted it too make it zutara and make it not be a crossover and added some of my own stuff in it as well. was i successful? Yes? No? I ran into trouble in the middle of it and at the end of it, which is why it took me so long to finish it. Which i apologize for. And i would like to thank those that still continued to read even through the long hiatuses. I love you all!

I will soon continue with my other fics, for those who read them. They are in the works and will be posted once the chapters are finished and edited to perfection...or close to perfection at least.

thanks for reading, thanks a bunch for reviewing!

-Till next ti...story!XD


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